Cautious Hiring

The stock market turmoil, while unsettling, has validated the conservative approach to building a business. Small businesses have remained in survival mode, and plan to stay there. That could make an already slow economic comeback even more sluggish, economists say.

Small companies account for more than 50 percent of all private sector employment, and have traditionally led economic rebounds by adding jobs. That’s not happening this time. Owners have become accustomed to doing more with less and are getting by with fewer employees.

And there is nothing in the economic projections that is likely to change that thinking, said Chris G. Christopher Jr., a senior economist with the Lexington forecasting firm IHS Global Insight. Small-business owners’ confidence has been spiraling downward for months - even before the dramatic market swings of late.