| Last Five Years | Last Five Quarters | |||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Q3-03 | Q4-03 | Q1-04 | Q2-04 | Q3-04 | |
| Business bankruptcy filings (thousands) | 37.6 | 35.5 | 40.1 | 38.5 | 35.0 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 10.6 | 8.2 | -- |
| Proprietors' income (billions of dollars) | 678.3 | 728.4 | 771.9 | 769.6 | 834.1 | 852.0 | 864.7 | 872.1 | 901.4 | 903.2 |
| Prime bank loan rate | 8.0 | 9.2 | 6.9 | 4.7 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.4 |
| Rates for smallest loans (less than $100,000) | 8.7 | 9.7 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
| Senior loan officers (percent of respondents): | ||||||||||
| Small firm C&I lending standards have eased | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1.8 | 8.8 | 12.7 | 19.6 | 4.3 |
| Small firm C&I lending standards stayed same | 90.5 | 78.7 | 60.5 | 78.2 | 86.2 | 93.0 | 84.2 | 85.5 | 80.4 | 87.0 |
| Small firm demand for C&I loans is stronger | 14.5 | 15.5 | 6.6 | 4.6 | 12.7 | 15.8 | 15.7 | 27.3 | 43.6 | 30.4 |
| Small firm demand for C&I loans stayed same | 75.4 | 65.8 | 50.4 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 56.1 | 64.7 | 67.3 | 50.9 | 60.9 |
| Venture investment: number of deals | 5615 | 8073 | 4617 | 3044 | 2834 | 692 | 753 | 684 | 794 | 601 |
| Venture investment: total invested (billions of dollars) | 54.7 | 105.9 | 41.0 | 21.5 | 18.7 | 4.3 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.9 | 4.3 |
Note: The third quarter figure for the Senior Loan Officers Survey is for July, which measures April through July. C&I loans refers to commercial and industrial loans. Sources: Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts; Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; National Venture Capital Association; U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.
| Last Five Years | Last Five Months | |||||||||
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | |
| NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (1986 = 100) | 101.2 | 100.3 | 98.4 | 101.2 | 101.3 | 104.5 | 103.0 | 105.9 | 102.9 | 104.5 |
| NFIB: next 3 months "good time to expand" (percent of respondents) | 22.8 | 19.2 | 12.3 | 14.3 | 15.7 | 22 | 21 | 25 | 19 | 23 |
| NFIB: net percent planning to hire in the next 3 months | 17.2 | 15.6 | 11.6 | 10.8 | 10.2 | 14 | 11 | 16 | 19 | 14 |
| Self-employed, incorporated (millions) | 4.3 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 5.3 |
| Self-employed, unincorporated (millions) | 10.1 | 10.2 | 10.1 | 9.9 | 10.3 | 10.4 | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.7 | 10.5 |
Sources: National Federation of Independent Business; Current Population Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
