California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

American small business owners report working more hours, more days and more
holidays than their general public counterparts, and during the past year,
that gap has widened according to an analysis by Discover Financial Services.

While the amount of days and hours on the job for the average American have
been relatively flat since 2007, the number of small business owners who work
more than 10 hours a day jumped from 30 percent in 2008 to 39 percent in 2009.
In comparison, only 20 percent of average workers make the same claim.

When it comes to days worked per week, 61 percent of small business owners said
they work six or more, up from 45 percent in 2008 and 43 percent in 2007.
Comparatively, only 22 percent of workers in the general population say they
work more than five days a week.

Given their heavy work schedules, small business owners are finding less time
for vacation than in years past. Today, only 29 percent say they have taken a
vacation in the past year that lasted a week, down from 40 percent in May 2008
and 41 percent in May 2007. Thirty percent say it’s been four years or more
since they had a vacation that lasted a week, up from 23 percent in both 2008
and 2007.

More than half (56 percent) of small business owners say that the economy has
caused them to postpone or cancel vacation time this summer, compared to 45 percent
of the general population who said the same.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.