Newtek Business Services,The Small Business Authority, announced the release of the SB Authority Index forSeptember 2011reaching 108.94 points. The SB Authority Index is up .85% fromAugust 2011. Approved SBA loan volumes and retail sales are the primary drivers for the increase in the index.

President and CEO,Barry Sloanesaid, "The SB Authority index continues to track tepid growth in the small business economy. In our regular monthly surveys we are finding that certain aspects of the small business economy are on a slight functional uptrend and other drivers of this vital business segment are creating stiff headwinds. It clearly appears to us that consumers continue to spend but are doing so at a slower rate and converting their dollars towards debt reduction and savings versus the pace of spending in the prior decade. Small business lending according to SBA statistics, as well as Federal Reserve statistics is becoming more available but off of an extremely low base, and not enough lending is occurring to create a dramatic business turnaround. Business confidence from independent business owners appears to be somewhere between a neutral and negative reading and without that confidence additional hiring, capital expenditures and growth initiatives will not be present. According to government statistics, the small business economy represents 75% of net new job growth and 50% of non-farm GDP. The tracking of our index and the trends apparent in its components will be a key driver to whether or not the U.S. economy turns around."