Small Businesses Struggling

Small businesses have been struggling as unemployment has been going higher. The unemployment rate jumped from 9.8% to 10.2% from September to October. The stock market has also begun to struggle. "Small business tends to lead the way out, and that's just not happening here," says Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com. Many key factors including credit, limited exports, and health care costs have accounted for the struggles of small businesses. Many small firms aren't getting the loans that were before possible. Small firms don't export as much as large companies which doesn't allow them to benefit from good recoveries overseas. Health care costs have also been rising much more for small firms than large companies causing them to worry. If small businesses don't pick it up, the market rally could come to an end.