I agree totally. Small business is in a strangle-hold, and they’ll not expand until there’s some clarity about the next 4 years.
Large business, though, is sort of like bell-weather states, they show broader trends, and their not hiring is the broad trend.
I think it is changing. Crony capitalism (corporatism) and globalization (moving operations overseas) has tended to stagnate growth of the multinationals. They can lock in market share through govt regulation and tax policy. Also, multinationals increasingly look first to expand overseas because of better labor conditions and less regulation.