Layoffs Only Tell Part Of The Small Business Employment Story

Last month’s labor figures are out and they don’t look good. According to the Labor Department, 600,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of January 2009. The figures include massive layoffs announced by large companies like Sprint-Nextel, Home Depot, Pfizer, and previously unscathed technology sector giants like Google, Microsoft and Intel. These numbers seem large, but small business is also feeling the pinch.

The unemployment figures, which now put the national unemployment rate at 7.5%, only tell half of the story. The Labor Department also tracks the number of new jobs created. As the monthly numbers of jobs lost now reaches into levels not seen since the mid-1970’s, the number of new jobs being created is plunging at a rate even faster than that of the mounting job losses. Not only are large numbers of jobs being lost, but new jobs aren’t being created, ensuring that long-term unemployment is here to stay.

The impact is being felt in the small business sector. The number of small business loans is down sharply in the first quarter of fiscal year 2009. The number of franchises – a typical favorite of new entrepreneurs – is in a downward spiral. Small manufacturers are having trouble hanging on, in large part because lending volumes are down and small businesses have no ready access to cash.

Small businesses are now turning to private funding sources like Rapid Capital Funding for cash. Rapid Capital Funding offers merchant cash advances to businesses of any size. A business cash advance is not a loan. It is unsecured credit that is issued based upon a merchant’s monthly credit card sales volumes. A business cash advance provides a quick way to receive the money for credit card sales when you need it.

There is no monthly loan payment to make. Repayment of the cash advance occurs automatically as credit card transactions are processed. There are no restrictions on how the money can be used. You can use it to make payroll, buy new equipment, pay bills or increase your cash cushion. And unlike a bank loan, ninety-five percent of applicants are approved, regardless of their credit.

If you need cash for your US-based business, and have more than $2,500 per month in Visa and MasterCard sales, Rapid Capital Funding can help.

Photo Credit: Daniel Lobo, via Flickr

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