The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) yesterday gave unemployed workers the latest dose of bad news, announcing that in a recent survey of small firms only 1 percent indicated that they are planning new hires, down from 6 percent in February. This lowest level of planned small business hiring since December 1991 is an important job market indicator---small firms do the majority of new hiring---and is evidence that low consumer confidence fueled by fears of unemployment has businesses scared (see WIT for Feb. 28, 2003). The NFIB report added to the gloom created by a recent Business Roundtable report showing that while 9 percent of the membership of this large corporation are planning new hires in the next six months, 45 percent are planning to cut jobs.