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WASHINGTON — The Senate on March 25 passed a bill to extend the deadline for business owners to apply for forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program, giving applicants two more months to apply for federal aid. The vote was 92-7.

At least 1 in 10 small businesses in the U.S. are expecting to lay off workers once their fiscal relief funds run out, according to a new survey.

The Trump administration and Congress expect an agreement April 20 on an aid package of up to $450 billion to boost a small-business loan program that has run out of money and add funds for hospitals and COVID-19 testing.

U.S. small businesses found it a little easier to fill jobs in December, consistent with a moderating, yet still-robust, labor market, National Federation of Independent Business data showed Jan. 9.

NEW YORK — The new year brings new overtime rules for employers including small businesses and in turn, a pay raise for an estimated 1.3 million workers.

As a tight labor market makes filling positions more difficult, 26% of U.S. small-business owners plan to increase pay in coming months, the most since a record in 1989, according to a National Federation of Independent Business report out Dec. 5.

NEW YORK — Many small companies tied to the housing market are seeing a slowdown in business, one that’s forecast to continue well into 2020.

U.S. small-business sentiment fell to near the lowest level of Donald Trump’s presidency, as tariffs and economic uncertainty increasingly weigh on the outlook for owners across the country.

Optimism among small companies in the United States improved in February, snapping a five-month losing streak that was the longest in two decades on brighter views of future conditions.