One of the issues plaguing many right now, small business, home business or independent contractor, is the fact that hours are being cut, and another round of layoffs is on the way. This makes things increasingly difficult in terms of how much workers are expected to produce as this economic downturn continues.

And, unfortunately, they aren’t getting paid for expected increases in productivity, reports MarketWatch:

Workers’ real compensation has fallen over the past year, suggesting
that workers were not able to demand greater wages to offset the higher
prices they paid for energy and food. If employees don’t get raises to
match the increase in prices, the inflationary spiral is severed.

I am a self-employed freelance writer, but that doesn’t mean I’m not seeing some of the effects. One of my regular clients has significantly cut back on the amount of work he has for me. Which means I am trying to make up for it elsewhere. And, I’m sure that home business and small business owners are scrambling to find ways to protect their employees AND the bottom line.

In this economic climate, however, I don’t know how effective those efforts will be.