Nearly half of small businesses aren't prepped for a recession: study
Concerns about an impending economic calamity peaked Aug. 14 when a reliable recession indicator flashed red. It's been over a decade since the last U.S. recession, so many economic experts fear America is overdue for another one.
Small businesses were crippled during what came to be known as the Great Recession. With a looming recession, have small businesses learned from that experience?
According to a new poll by BlueVine in partnership with Researchscape, the answer is, sadly, no. Of the 1,000 U.S. small business owners surveyed, 44 percent have not taken any steps to prepare for a possible recession.
Steps already taken to prep for the recession
That's a shocking statistic, considering 80 percent of those small business owners who are worried a recession could happen.
Nearly a quarter of those surveyed said the possibility of a recession has affected their hiring and workforce directly, with 16 percent saying they're slowed down or stopped hiring new employees and 7 percent have sought out temporary or contracted workers.
In July, the U.S. economy added a fairly unnoteworthy 164,000 jobs. The unemployment rate remained steady at 3.7 percent, near a 50-year-low, while average hourly earnings have increased by 3.2 percent (falling short of expectations).
So maybe business owners haven't prepared for a recession, but another question is: Are they planning to prepare?
More than a third of small business owners surveyed said they don't plan to prepare for a possible recession within the next two years.
Steps small businesses will take
Some steps they plan to take are things like financing and diversifying their products and seeking new suppliers.
BlueVine CEO Eyal Lifshitz was surprised when he heard people were not financing in a time where the economy is strong, especially with the threat of a recession.
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"Small businesses should be taking time now to prepare their business while the economy is still strong, particularly when it comes to getting the right financing to withstand any economic condition," Lifshitz said.
FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.