As the summer winds down, more businesses are heavily weighing economic conditions for their hiring decisions. According to a recent survey by Insperity, 41 percent of small business owners plan to hire more employees, up from 39 percent in April. However, compared to January, this is a slight drop from the 50 percent of executives who said they planned to hire more people.
There was more good news for employees of small and mid-size businesses, as average compensation was 1.6 percent higher in the second quarter of 2014 compared to the same time period in 2013. However, bonuses were reportedly down 3.2 percent from last year.
The survey also found that 28 percent of employers plan to increase employee compensation, slightly down from 29 percent in April. While there was a drop, this is still a good sign that the economy continues to improve as job growth and other conditions are getting better. It appears that more business owners are still waiting for the overall economy to recover further before taking on more employees or increasing compensation.
A separate report from CNN Money-Mantra found that 28 percent of small business owners say the economy is their biggest challenge over other issues like sales, regulations and financing. The survey reported that more small businesses are finding it easier to get working capital for their operations, but many owners are still unsure about hiring more employees.
However, just 5 percent said hiring was their most significant challenge, indicating that many owners are still expecting to increase the number of employees they hire over the next year. Since the recession, small businesses have faced stricter regulations on lending, which has made it more difficult to get a small business loan. However, over the last few years, these conditions have loosened somewhat, giving businesses better opportunities to find financing.
