Small Business Worst Hit by Recession

Local business ventures across the United States have been hit hard by the recession according to data compiled by Small Business Administration.

Small business owners all over the country have been increasingly defaulting on tax payer-backed loans as the recession drags down sales and pushes up operating costs. According to SBA data, the national total for write-offs on SBA loans has left taxpayers with a burden of a record $2.1 billion since 2007. In Florida alone, the write-offs came to $187,561 on SBA loans previously approved at $261.5 million.

Most of the small businesses that have faced the worst of this recession include restaurants, small jewelry stores, day care centers, house remodelers, auto mechanics, software publishers, beauty salons, landscape designers and similar ventures. Almost half of all workers in the US are employed in small businesses and this is one of the reasons why recession-hit small business sector has had a domino effect on consumption and retail industries in the country.

In the past instances of recession, the small businesses were among the first to rebound, points out Todd McCracken, president of National Small Business Association. However the present recession is harsher in that it is taking the businesses longer than usual to come up since now banks are more hesitant to approve loans.