October Small Business Scorecard

Today we feature stats from the October Small Business Scorecard issued today from SurePayroll, which showed the government shutdown had a significant impact on businesses with 10 or fewer employees. The optimism survey found 90 percent of these businesses felt their concerns are not being heard on Capitol Hill. In fact, two-thirds said they would not reelect their Congressman or woman if the election were held today.

“Post-shutdown, there are positive economic indicators like a soaring stock market and some spectacular valuations for tech companies – masking an ugly reality for the majority of small businesses with 10 or less employees,” said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “Main Street continues to suffer the blows of uncertainty. The dry cleaner on the corner and the local insurance agent are paying a heavy price. They’re not feeling any support from the government and expectations continue to drop.”

Prior to the government shutdown, 42 percent of small business owners expected to surpass third quarter results in the fourth quarter, according to the Scorecard. After the shutdown, however, that number dropped to only 27 percent. Only 38 percent plan to make new investments in their businesses in the fourth quarter, down from 45 percent prior to the shutdown and 54 percent in June.

The October 2013 Scorecard is available now on the SurePayroll blog.