| Last Five Years | Last Five Quarters | |||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Q1-03 | Q2-03 | Q3-03 | Q4-03 | Q1-04 | |
| Business bankruptcy filings (thousands) | 37.6 | 35.5 | 40.1 | 38.5 | 35.0 | 8.8 | 9.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | -- |
| Proprietors' income (billions of dollars) | 678.3 | 728.4 | 770.7 | 797.7 | 846.9 | 813.5 | 838.8 | 860.9 | 874.3 | 894.3 |
| Prime bank loan rate | 8.0 | 9.2 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Rates for smallest loans (less than $100,000) | 8.7 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 4.3 | -- |
| Senior loan officers (percent of respondents): | ||||||||||
| Small firm C&I lending standards have eased | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 8.8 | 12.7 |
| Small firm C&I lending standards stayed same | 90.5 | 78.7 | 60.5 | 78.2 | 86.2 | 86.2 | 83.6 | 93.0 | 84.2 | 85.5 |
| Small firm demand for C&I loans is stronger | 14.5 | 15.5 | 6.6 | 4.6 | 12.7 | 13.8 | 5.5 | 15.8 | 15.7 | 27.3 |
| Small firm demand for C&I loans stayed same | 75.4 | 65.8 | 50.4 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 51.7 | 67.3 | 56.1 | 64.7 | 67.3 |
| Venture investment: number of deals | 5604 | 8068 | 4609 | 3033 | 2779 | 662 | 706 | 686 | 725 | 618 |
| Venture investment: total invested (billions of dollars) | 54.4 | 105.9 | 40.7 | 21.3 | 18.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 4.6 |
Notes: All annual figures represent mean, except bankruptcies. The shaded
area indicates a recession.
Sources: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System; National Venture Capital Association; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
| Last Five Years | Last Five Months | |||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Nov-03 | Dec-03 | Jan-04 | Feb-04 | Mar-04 | |
| NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (1986 = 100) | 101.2 | 100.3 | 98.4 | 101.2 | 101.3 | 105.3 | 106.9 | 105.8 | 102.6 | 102.6 |
| NFIB: next 3 months "good time to expand" (percent of respondents) | 22.8 | 19.2 | 12.3 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 19 | 18 |
| Self-employed, unincorporated (millions) | 10.5 | 10.3 | 10.2 | 10.0 | 10.7 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 10.8 | 10.5 | 10.2 |
| Self-employed, incorporated (millions) | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5.2 |
Notes: All annual figures represent mean. The shaded area indicates a recession.
Sources: National Federation of Independent Business; Current Population Survey, U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
