NFIB Survey: December Job Openings Level Offers Hope for U.S. Economy

BETHESDA, MD--(Marketwire - Jan 27, 2012) - According to the Interface Financial Group (IFG), factoring is an ideal alternative funding solution for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at this point in the United States' economic recovery. According to the latest National Federation of Independent Businesses Survey, job openings and hiring plans were at a level high for December 2011. It was the second highest level since 2007 when the recession began, providing small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with hope that an improvement in the economy is in sight.

The small but notable gain settled the December reading at 93.8. This represents the fourth monthly increase since September, suggesting that the rising trend might stick. However, a comparative look at early 2011 shows the Index rising in the early part of the year, only to decline in March and April.

The Index has gained 5.7 points over the last four months, and although the Index is still six points below the pre-recession average and more than 10 points below the same point in the recovery from the 2001 recession, these gains in the Index provide hope that economic growth will pick up in 2012.

IFG's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer George Shapiro said, "As retail sales are still slow, this means alternative funding strategies such as spot factoring could help SMEs finance continued business and grow as the economy improves during 2012. IFG's spot factoring solution enables an SME to sell its accounts receivable invoices to a third party at a discount in exchange for immediate cash within less than 24 hours."

Slow sales are still challenging many small businesses. The seasonally adjusted net percent of all owners reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months gained 4 points, rising to a net negative 7 percent. What this means is that there are still more firms with sales trending down upward. 23 percent of owners reported weak sales as their top business problem, even though there were reports of improving retail sales in the fourth quarter of 2011.

Unlike a loan, factoring services are the purchase of financial assets, or receivables accounts. There are no upfront fees and no co-signers required. IFG has no minimum sales volume requirement, and professional fees are competitive because each client's circumstances vary, which may have an impact on the fees charged.

IFG private label solutions include export factoring, providing services for companies who export from the United States and Canada; P.O. Funding to finance purchase orders when a company receives a purchase order and needs to purchase supplies to fulfill the order; Construction Factoring; and Inventory Financing, a solution promoting a company's growth by funding them when they must expand and purchase inventory.

IFG does not expect to buy 100 percent of a company's receivables and professional rates are competitive. The program allows choices of invoices to be factored, enabling customers to retain most of their money, to spend the minimum fees, plus guarantee adequate cash flow.

About The Interface Financial Group (www.ifgnetwork.com)

The Interface Financial Group (IFG) is North America's largest alternative funding source for small business, providing short-term financial resources, including invoice factoring (invoice discounting). The company serves clients in more than 30 industries in the United States, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, UK and Ireland, and offers cross-border transaction facilities. With more than 140 offices across North America and over 39 years of experience, IFG provides innovative accounts receivable factoring services and solutions by offering short-term working capital to growing businesses. Single invoice factoring, or spot factoring, is an extremely fast way to turn receivables into cash.

IFG was founded in 1972 to provide short-term working capital to help small to medium-sized businesses grow. The IFG organization operates on a local level, providing clients with local knowledge and experience and business expertise in numerous diverse areas in addition to accounts receivable factoring, including accounting, finance, law, marketing and banking.