New Jersey entrepreneurs see signs of recovery

Officials in New Jersey are seeing signs of the economic recovery through an increase in business incorporations and small business loans over the past year, according to the New Jersey Times.

The Times reports that the number of small business loans issued between October and May has jumped 42 percent compared to the same period a year earlier.

“Generally in New Jersey we’re seeing an increase in the amount of lending to small businesses that is being done,” Frank Burke, assistant director of the SBA’s New Jersey district office, told the paper.

Officials also told the Times that there had been an increase in the number of people filing their business name, and a decrease in business name cancellations.

“People are feeling pretty good about where the economy is going. We’re seeing hiring locally, and we’re seeing people spending money,” Michelle Siekerka, president of the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce, told the Times.

Nationwide, small business owners are feeling better about the economy. A recent Capital One survey found that 77 percent of small business owners said their company’s financial situation had either improved or remained stable over the last year.