Titled “The Small Business Economy,” the report concluded that coming out of 2008 small businesses were struggling to find good help, good financial backing and sound footing with a variety of imposing competitors.
Around the country, surveys showed small businesses struggling against ever-rising health-care costs, too.
The Temple metro area has about 5,000 small businesses that employ more than 17,000 people.
Sales-tax allocation figures from the state comptroller indicate sales rose slightly in 2008 over 2007 in Temple and Bell County.
For the first six months of 2009, sales-tax returns to the city of Temple were almost flat with the same period in 2008.
In addition to that neutral indicator, local surveys by Manpower Inc. have consistently shown that employers intend to hire this year through this quarter.
