SMEs are hunkering down as concerns increase about the robustness of the economic recovery.
According to a study of 1,304 members of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the net balance of businesses expecting an improvement in prospects over the next three months has dropped from 16.2 per cent at the end of the first quarter, to 4.2 per cent in quarter two and now just 0.5 per cent at the end of quarter three.
More than a third (38.1 per cent) of respondents also report a decline in revenues in the three months to September and 10.4 per cent of companies actively expect to decrease employment over the next three months.
John Walker, national chairman of the FSB, says: ‘Evidence from this report shows that small firms do not have the confidence to [create jobs] yet and so we urge the Government to ensure that the right measures for firms to grow are laid out.’
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