Thumbtack: R.I.’s economic sentiment worst in nation in October

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island’s economic sentiment was worst in the nation in October, according to Thumbtack Inc., which surveyed 65 small businesses in the Ocean State to come up with its findings.

In addition, Providence was rated as the worst city in the nation for its economic sentiment. A total of 95 small business owners in Providence and the surrounding metropolitan area responded to the survey.

Thumbtack, a website company, ranked Oklahoma best in the nation for economic sentiment, and Oklahoma City as the best city.
Cities and states were rated on a 100-point scale, with Rhode Island scoring 58.01 and Providence, 58.82.
In Rhode Island, 18.9 percent of respondents listed uncertain economic conditions as a top concern, a 2 percent increase compared with last year. In Providence, it again was the main concern of respondents, at 17.4 percent, a 1 percent increase compared with 2014.
Thumbtack said Midwestern and Northeastern states tended to be the least optimistic in October, but that sentiment nationwide did appear to stabilize over the past two months. Sentiment had been steadily declining since a yearly high in March, Thumbtack said.

“Negative headlines about macroeconomic trends seem to be creating headwinds for the expectations of small businesses in the U.S.,” Thumbtack’s Chief Economist Jon Lieber said in a statement. “Although finding new customers remains a primary concern for this group, things like the 2016 election, the threat of rising interest rates and threats to the world economy have dampened expectations about growth over the next quarter.”
Thumbtack said it regularly surveys on a national basis the economic views of a “notoriously hard-to-reach segment” of small business owners: service professionals who are primarily self-employed or have fewer than five employees.
Only 43 states were surveyed for the study. A Thumbtack representative said the states that were not included – Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming – did not have a large enough sample size – 50 or more responses – to be included.

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