Small business owners’ confidence in the economy and the federal government fell to an all-time low during the recent government shutdown, according to a survey by the Wall Street Journal and Vistage International.

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Beltway battles are taking a toll on small-business owners, like Andy Vabulas, whose confidence in the economy fell to a nine-month low in October. The biggest drop in confidence in October was reported by small federal contractors, including many whose income was cutoff during the two-week government shutdown. Among these firms, the confidence index fell to 89.4, compared with 99.1 among firms that didn’t do business with the federal government. Mr. Vabulas, whose firm has 104 employees and $24 million in annual revenue, says weak spending at other companies has had a direct impact on his own: “If others cut back, we have to cut back, too.”

See Full Story: “Federal Woes Faze Small Business Owners” (WSJ.com)

(Featured photo: on Flickr via Pierre Pouliquin)