Although the aftereffects of the recession linger like a stubborn hangover, opportunities for new businesses and expansion of existing enterprises are improving, according to several experts in small-business financing and development.
"The economy is finally starting to really recover," said Bruce D. Phillips, acting director of economic research at the SBA in Washington.
Other indicators tend to confirm that small businesses see some relief from the financial headaches of the last few years - and are responding.
A survey earlier this year by the National Federation of Independent Business, which represents 500,000 small businesses, reported an increase in its members' "optimism index." That improvement is reflected in members'
plans to add employees - if they can find them - and anticipated increases in sales.
There are some other noteworthy trends:
* Business failures were down during the first quarter of 1993, according to preliminary data collected by Phillips. That came after an 18 percent increase in failures in 1992 over the previous year, and a 48 percent rise in failures in 1991 over 1990.
* In this region, business bankruptcies were down 10 percent in fiscal 1992 over the prior year; nationally, they decreased 1.1 percent.
* Of the 403,000 new jobs created in 1992, most were in businesses with fewer than 500 employees, according to Phillips, which is one of the SBA's definitions of a small business.
That still represents only "anemic" growth in an economy with 110 million to 112 million workers, he added.
Contrary to a widely held view that new jobs are low-paying jobs, most of those added by small businesses pay average or higher-than-average wages, Phillips said, although he cautioned that such data were still incomplete.
Average wages range from $480 a week in manufacturing to $205 in retailing, according to the federal Council of Economic Advisers.
