Employment Outlook

Chambers Williams of the Tennessean gathered a variety of perspectives on the employment outlook:

The worst recession since the Great Depression may be easing, and that gives most small-business owners in Middle Tennessee a little optimism. But most say they're still reluctant to add to payrolls until an upswing takes even deeper hold.

"Very few are hiring, and the mood with our membership is still damp," said Jim Brown, Tennessee president of the http://www.nfib.com/">National Federation of Independent Business, a small-business trade group. "In some areas, the balloon is slowly refilling, but in others there remains significant softness."

In many past recessions, entrepreneurs and small businesses have played a major role in taking risks and hiring new employees to fuel recovery. Don't count on it this time, says Jeff Cornwall, a professor of entrepreneurship at the Belmont University business school.

"Most of the small-business folks are being very cautious about creating jobs," he said. "They are uncertain about the government increasing taxes and about where this economy is heading, and they are taking a very prudent course."

You can read the entire column here.