New U.S. Small Business Survey On Employment and Economic Sentiment Finds That Most Small Business Owners Have A Positive Economic Outlook, But Less Than A Third Plan To Hire New Employees In The Second Half Of The Year
Endurance's latest survey also found that 44% of small business owners find hiring new employees to be 'challenging' or 'downright difficult' in today's economic environment;
The survey also finds that 54% believe the federal minimum wage should be increased, even though 52% of owners believe that raising the minimum wage would hurt their small business
BURLINGTON, Mass., June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- In anticipation of tomorrow's release of the U.S. Department of Labor's May 2015 Employment Situation Summary, Endurance International Group (NASDAQ: EIGI) today unveiled the results of its U.S. Small Business Hiring and Economic Sentiment Survey, providing insights and perspectives on small business owners' views on hiring, wages and the economy.
"American small businesses continue to drive our economy forward, but we need to do more to support their growth and success," said Endurance CEO and Founder, Hari Ravichandran. "Our latest survey shows that hiring and finding talent continues to be a challenge for small businesses. Even though most small business owners in our survey tend to be bullish on their business prospects, it's clear that Washington needs to do more to address small business concerns on a variety of issues from taxes and bank lending to cybersecurity. The time to act is now."
According to Endurance survey results, only 27% of small business owners plan to hire new employees in the last two quarters of this year. When it comes to hiring new employees, only 20% of respondents said hiring new employees was 'easy,' while 44% said hiring new employees was either 'challenging' or 'downright difficult' due to the unavailability of candidates with the right skills or training.
However, a majority of small business owners remain upbeat about their own business prospects with 70% saying their business outlook for the remainder of the year was 'very positive' or 'positive.' In contrast, only 42% of survey respondents had a 'very positive' or 'positive' outlook on the general economy.
In what may be a sign of cautious spending for small businesses, most owners (68%) said they would not be making any major investments in real estate, technology, materials or supplies in the last half of the year.
The Endurance survey also found that small business owners are conflicted on the issue of the federal minimum wage. Of those surveyed, 52% believe that raising the minimum federal wage would hurt their business. However, 54% of respondents believe that the federal minimum wage should be higher than the current level of $7.25.
When it comes to Washington's involvement, a vast majority (78%) of respondents do not believe that Congress or the White House has had a positive impact on small businesses in 2015. Additionally, when it comes to improving small business owners' ability to obtain bank loans and financing, 73% believe that the lending atmosphere has not improved.
Endurance's Small Business Hiring and Economic Sentiment Survey was conducted between May 22-26, 2015 and surveyed 1,157 U.S. small business owners, all of which have web presence solutions from Endurance. For purposes of this survey, small businesses are defined as employing 10 or fewer people on either a full-time or part-time basis.
Endurance International Group is a leading technology provider of cloud-based platform solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses establish and grow their presence online. Endurance, through its family of brands, supports more than 4.2 million subscribers globally.
Survey Results
| QUESTION POSED |
RESPONSES |
|
1. What is your general outlook for your business for the remainder of 2015? |
Very Positive: 28% Positive: 42% Neutral: 21% Negative: 6% Very Negative: 3%
|
|
2. What is your general outlook on the economy?
|
Very Positive: 8% Positive: 34% Neutral: 34% Negative: 19% Very Negative: 6%
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|
3. Do you plan to hire employees (part-time or full-time) in the last two quarters of the year?
|
No: 73% Yes: 27%
|
|
4. If yes, why are you hiring?
|
Business has been stronger than expected and I need more help: 20% Business has been as expected and the hiring was pre-planned: 33% I am anticipating that my business will grow and I am hiring in anticipation: 47%
|
|
4a. If yes, how does your hiring compare to last year?
|
I plan to hire more people: 74% I plan to hire less people: 6% I plan to hire the same number of people as I did last year: 21%
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|
4b. If yes, how long do you plan for your new employees to stay?
|
Summer only: 7% Long-term: 43% Unsure at this time: 49%
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5. If you are not hiring, why not?
|
Business has been stronger than expected, but I can handle it with my current staff: 15% Business has been as expected and I don't need more staff: 69% I am anticipating a slowdown in my business: 16%
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6. In general, when you have job openings, do you find hiring employees to be:
|
Easy – there are always multiple qualified people applying for job openings. It's hard to choose: 20% It's okay – there are multiple people applying, but not all are qualified or have the right skill set or training: 36% Challenging – people apply for jobs, but most applicants do not have the right skill set or training. It takes a long time to hire: 36% Downright difficult – there aren't enough people. No one is applying for job openings: 8%
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7. Are you planning to make any major financial investments (real estate, technology, materials, supplies, etc.) in your business during the last two quarters of the year?
|
Yes: 32% No: 68%
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|
8. Do you believe the ability to obtain bank financing (loans) has improved for small business?
|
Yes: 27% No: 73%
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9. Do you think the new Congress or the White House has had a positive impact on small businesses in 2015?
|
Yes: 22% No: 78%
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10. Do you think raising the federal minimum wage would help or hurt your small business?
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It would help my small business: 48% It would hurt my small business: 52%
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11. How you do feel about the federal minimum wage? |
It should be higher: 54% It should stay the same: 36% It should be lower: 10%
|
*Due to rounding, numbers may not add to 100%.
About Endurance International Group
Endurance International Group is a publicly traded (NASDAQ: EIGI) technology company that helps power small and medium-sized businesses online. Through its proprietary cloud platform, Endurance provides web presence solutions including web hosting, eCommerce, eMarketing and mobile business tools to approximately 4.2 million subscribers around the globe. The company's world-class family of brands includes Bluehost, HostGator, iPage, Domain.com, A Small Orange, MOJO Marketplace, BigRock and ResellerClub, among others. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, Endurance employs more than 2,600 people across the United States in Utah, Texas, Washington and Arizona and in the United Kingdom, India, Israel and Brazil. For more information on how Endurance can help grow your business, visit endurance.com.
Endurance International Group and the compass logo are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. Other brand names of Endurance International Group are trademarks of The Endurance International Group, Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Press Contact:
Dani LaSalvia
Endurance International Group
(781) 852-3212
[email protected]
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150603/220644-INFO
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141007/150784
SOURCE Endurance International Group
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