Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Thursday 11 april 2019
A25

Uneasy about the economy, some businesses hold off on hiring

NEW YORK (AP) — Saman- put off hiring until rising rev-
tha Martin does most of the enue justifies taking on the
annual hiring for her pub- added expense and risk.
lic relations firm in the first Many owners like Martin
quarter. But not this year hire independent contrac-
— clients worried about a tors, or freelancers, if there's
slowing economy are cut- more work than their regu-
ting their budgets, and lar employees can handle.
Martin has in turn scaled "They have a much finer
back her own plans. gauge on how to accom-
"Our clients are having plish what they need to
trouble getting funding without layering in a lot of
and therefore public rela- expense," says Steve Spinel-
tions and marketing are the li, the incoming president of
first to get cut," says Martin, Babson College and an en-
owner of New York-based trepreneur himself.
Media Maison. Owners have also adopt-
If Martin's firm has more ed technology that helps
work than her current staff them get their work done,
can handle, she'll hire free- so there is less pressure on
lancers who work by the their companies to hire, Spi-
hour. Hiring on a project- nelli says.
by-project basis removes In this Thursday, April 4, 2019, photo Kaben Clauson, poses for a photo t at his TruePublic office in "You have a healthier small
the potential of having to Chicago. business community, a
lay anyone off. Associated Press more nimble small business
Small business owners who community and one that's
are uneasy as they see signs job creation at larger com- The economy is widely ex- months of a cash cushion," more forward looking," Spi-
of a weakening economy panies. pected to slow this year, says Kaben, whose Chica- nelli says.
have cut back on hiring in Small business owners, es- starting with the recently go-based company con- After Greg Henson's tech-
recent months and found pecially those who learned ended first quarter. Econo- ducts online surveys. "We'd nology services company
ways to get work done hard lessons from the mists surveyed by financial feel more comfortable with was forced to lay off half its
without adding employees. Great Recession about information provider Fact- a year's cushion." staff during the Great Re-
The latest evidence of a hir- overstaffing, are playing it Set estimate that gross do- Clauson's concern is linked cession, he restructured the
ing slowdown came last safe. While a Capital One mestic product grew at an to the hesitancy he sees in business so approximately
week, when payroll pro- survey also released last annual rate of 1.6% from investors who start hunker- 50% of The Henson Group's
vider ADP said its small busi- week showed that 29% of January through March, ing down because of stock workers are freelancers. He
ness customers created just 500 small business owners down from 2.9% in all of market volatility or signs of has the flexibility of call-
6,000 jobs in March. Febru- planned to hire in the next 2018. economic weakness. ing them in for projects as
ary's tally of 19,000 new jobs six months, that was down TruePublic's last four hires "My company is raising an- needed, and doesn't have
was also weak and down from 33% in a survey six were part-timers. CEO Ka- other $2 million and we're fears of another mass lay-
sharply from January's months earlier. Of the own- ben Clauson had planned looking for investors," Ka- off.
98,000; ADP's small busi- ers who don't plan to hire, on taking on full-time staff- ben says. "Who's knows Henson is also concerned
ness numbers also fluctu- nearly 30% said the econ- ers, but partly because what happens with the about the economy, and
ated throughout 2018. The omy is making them too of the economy decided economy going forward?" has contracted with an-
report, as well as the most nervous to spend more on against the added risk. Before the recession, the other company to handle
recent jobs report from the staffing. The Capital One "We could hire those peo- philosophy at many com- some of his sales work.
Labor Department, clearly survey was in line with other ple full time now — we panies was to hire in antici- "We have frozen hiring until
shows that small business surveys taken during the have the money to do so — pation of higher revenue. we know what's happen-
hiring has lagged behind first quarter. but it would give us only six Now, the approach is to ing," he says.q