2 IN 3 SMALL FIRMS FEAR THEY'LL CLOSE DOWN; Fall in sales & credit crisis hits.Byline: SARAH Sarah or Sarai: see Sara. Sarah (flourished early 2nd millennium BC) In the Hebrew scriptures, the wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. She was childless until age 90. STACK TWO thirds of small firms fear they will be forced to close in the coming months, it emerged yesterday. A new study found more than six out of 10 companies will cut staff numbers as job prospects become even more bleak. The second quarterly survey by ISME ISME International Society for Music Education ISME Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association ISME International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems ISME Iranian Society of Mechanical Engineers ISME Inter-Segment Message Exchange ISME Imaging, Simulation, Modeling & Experimentation , which represents 8,500 small and medium business, revealed 77% of firms also reported a fall in sales. Head of research Jim Curran said even though smaller businesses are more optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op , there is little evidence of green shoots. He added: "Evidence suggests that small businesses continue to downsize Downsize Reducing the size of a company by eliminating workers and/or divisions within the company. Notes: When a company downsizes, it is attempting to find ways to improve efficiency and increase profitability. It is sometimes referred to as trimming the fat. , with companies planning to reduce employment numbers and investment levels over the next number of months. "Among the primary concerns are the level of economic uncer-taintand the lack of available credit, which continues to hamstring hamstring /ham·string/ (ham´string) one of the tendons bounding the popliteal space laterally and medially. inner hamstring the tendons of gracilis, sartorius, and two other muscles of the leg. companies. "It is not surprising, therefore, that small business owners hold the Government and financial institutions mainly responsible for the current economic crisis." More than 600 companies took part in the survey, with almost half blaming Government for the current crisis. The survey revealed many firms anticipate a significant drop in profits and fear the next 12 months will be extremely challenging. Worry-ingl66% of businesses said their viability was under threat if present conditions remain. But almost a quarter expect trading conditions to improve in the coming year. Mr Curran said on a slightly positive note there are indications that export values, which were decimated in the previous quarter, have improved. He added: "There is also clear evidence that wage rates and rents are reducing, which should assist long-term competitiveness. "However, businesses continue to be impacted by rising costs in other areas including local charges, transport and insurance." Meanwhile, a report on the Irish food and drink sector claimed 2,000 jobs have been lost since the start of the year with thousands more at risk. Rising business costs and the huge depreciation of sterling have badly affected suppliers.It's not surprising that small business owners hold the Government responsible ISME'S JIM CURRAN |
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