The INDEPENDENT, December 21, 2011
Page 7
Study looks at the reasons small businesses are not thriving
From page 6
prisingly, the single most im-
portant indicator that would re-
new small-business owner
confidence in business condi-
tions is increased sales in their
businesses. This is a fact sup-
ported by NFIB’s monthly
Small-Business Optimism In-
dex report, which has identified
poor sales as the top business
concern for small firms for 16
quarters running.
Other notable survey find-
ings include:
• Uncertainty is a growth im-
pediment impacting 61 percent
of small employers; only 25
percent say uncertainty does
not impact them. However,
owners of the smallest firms
and owners of the young firms
were more likely to identify un-
certainty as a concern than
owners of larger small firms
and more established firms.
And while the majority of small
employers who believe that un-
certainty is a hurdle think of it
as economic in nature (83 per-
cent), a comparatively large
number term their uncertainty
as related to political questions.
An extraordinary 51 percent
who think uncertainty is an im-
pediment to growth (38 percent
of the small-employer popula-
tion) blame the current political
situation at least in part as ob-
structing their growth.
• While the adverse impact
of regulation is often challeng-
ing to identify, 40 percent of
small employers say that regu-
latory or legal issues are an im-
pediment to growth. The com-
plex labyrinth of regulations as
opposed to a specific regula-
tion or set of regulations was
more often cited as an obsta-
cle, with 63 percent of this
group (31 percent of the popu-
Electricians light new career
paths for Oregon workers
by Chris Thomas, Oregon
News Service
As Oregon’s unemployment
rate inches lower, one factor
might be the new crop of con-
struction workers coming out of
free training programs hosted
by union electricians.
The International Brother-
hood of Electrical Workers
(IBEW) offers two types of
training in the Portland area,
both aimed at those who might
not otherwise have been ac-
cepted into rigorous union ap-
prentice programs. One is an
intensive, five-day workshop to
be material handlers on con-
struction sites. Instructor Brid-
get Quinn says it’s a good feel-
ing to watch the students suc-
ceed, “It’s really rewarding to
work with somebody who’s got
their eyes focused on some-
thing that they want to achieve
– somebody who’s motivated
and really putting all of their ef-
fort in, to achieve a way of life
and a career, and benefits –
something that’s really going to
be valuable to them.”
IBEW also partners with a
social-service group called
Constructing Hope to give
women and members of minor-
ity groups an in-depth look at
the trades in a nine-week
course. Board member Keith
Edwards says people who
have been released from
prison also are welcome,
“They’ve paid their debt to soci-
ety, but they had a hard time
coming out and trying to find
employment. This is an avenue
for them, to help them transi-
tion into a workforce environ-
ment, help them have confi-
dence so that they can get a
job and go back to work and be
productive citizens.”
The training also includes
resumé writing and job-inter-
view skills. The next Construct-
ing Hope course starts in Feb-
ruary and is free of charge.
When Steven Steele of Port-
land finished his material han-
dlers’ course, he liked it so
much he now volunteers in the
Constructing Hope classes,
helping students brush up on
computer skills, “The class that
I just was a part of, we were a
very strong class. All of us were
there every day – and we
stayed in touch, and we even
helped transport each other to
and from the facility if we need-
ed it.”
In the five-day workshop,
participants are certified in first
aid and cardiopulmonary re-
suscitation (CPR), operating
forklifts and special Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Ad-
ministration (OSHA) safety
training. The material-handler
training is free, and the next
sessions will be held in the
spring.
lation) reporting that a current
investment or project was im-
pacted by a regulatory matter.
One-quarter of those who find
regulations to be a burden ei-
ther cancelled a project sched-
uled for the next six months or
abandoned investment and/or
project plans.
• Forty-one (41) percent re-
ported the lack of finance as an
impediment to growth and 19
percent ranked it a serious
matter. Though 15 percent of
small employers asserted that
the lack of finance was their
biggest obstacle to growth, 49
percent termed it a minor or no
obstacle. More than half (53
percent) of small firm owners
surveyed think that internally
generated cash flows will be
their most important source of
financing desired investment
over the next five years. Bank
loans will be the second most
common source. However, 33
percent of those identifying
lack of finance as an impedi-
ment to growth say that exist-
ing financial obligations are
“seriously constraining” their
ability to finance desired busi-
ness investment and another
44 percent say that it is con-
straining.
• With the unemployment
rate near 10 percent, finding
skilled workers is still a struggle
for small-businesses. Sixty-one
(61) percent of those surveyed
(24 percent of the total popula-
tion) said the lack of skilled em-
ployees is an impediment to
growth and indicated that they
would hire at least one addi-
tional employee at the current
market wage rate in the next
six months if they could find
people with appropriate skills.
Over 37 percent (9% of the
population) would employ more
than one.
• Just 15 percent of small-
business owners cite the lack
of a strong management or ad-
visory team as an impediment
to growth. Of the group current-
ly possessing a management
team, 47 percent are highly
confident their current team
can provide the necessary as-
sistance to reach the firm’s
growth objectives in the next
five years. Most citing this im-
pediment want to add manage-
ment employees rather than to
change the ones they have.
The latest NFIB Small Busi-
ness Poll, Growth – External
Impediments, is available at
http://www.nfib.com/growth-
study.
November job
numbers stable
Columbia County’s season-
ally adjusted unemployment
rate was 10.4 percent in No-
vember essentially unchanged
from the previous month
(10.8%) but lower than the year
before (12.0%). The rate was
higher than the statewide rate
(9.1%) and the national rate
(8.6%). Total employment
climbed by 118 to 22,476 and
the number of unemployed
people fell by 141 to 2,311. To-
tal employment this November
was 617 more than one year
before and there were 569 few-
er people unemployed this
year.