No good employment news for small businesses

Chief economist for the NFIB, William C. Dunkelberg, issued comments on the continued dismal job findings from the latest NFIB monthly economic survey that will be released on Tuesday, October 11, 2011:

"There is a reason that Washington is talking in circles when it comes to the economy: There is no good news to report. Until sales improve, until it becomes cost-effective to hire new workers, we cannot expect small-business owners to take advantage of new hiring tax credits and increase their employee rolls. And the numbers prove it.

"For the fourth month in a row, small-business owners reported an overall reduction in employment, posting an average reduction of 0.3 workers per firm.
"A snapshot at regional numbers reveals that job creation plans were quite negative among firms in New England, albeit less so in the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic, West South Central and Pacific states. It would seem that the need for additional workers for hurricane cleanup was not strong enough to overcome broader weak economic conditions on the East coast.

"What do we expect Friday's DOL numbers to reveal? Our prediction is a weak payroll number and little change in the unemployment rate - certainly nothing positive."