Grim outlook for small business jobs

Job seekers, like these people waiting in the rain outside the Brooklyn Job Fair in April, face grim prospects from small businesses.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Small business owners have a grim outlook on the economy, with a gathering number planning to reduce jobs over the next three months, according to survey results from an industry group.

The percentage of independent businesses planning to increase employment in the next three months fell to 13% in May, compared to 16% in April and 18% in March, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

At the same time, the percentage of small businesses planning to reduce their work force has increased to 8% in May, compared to 6% in the month before, the group said.

The group said that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the businesses see a small net decline in employment.

The survey's index of small business optimism slipped 0.3 point in May to 90.9, the third consecutive monthly decline.

The chief culprit appears to be weak sales. Some 23% of small business owners reported that sales were higher in the last three months, but 36% said that sales were lower, according to the survey.

America's 'Lost Decade'

"Corporate profits may be at a record high, but businesses on Main Street are still scraping by," wrote NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg in the report. "The failure to understand why small business owners are not hiring or investing has resulted in a set of policies that have not been very effective, and Main Street is suffering."

Earlier this month, on June 6, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate ticked up slightly in May to 9.1%, compared to 9% the prior month.

The economy gained 54,000 jobs in May, but that's compared to a gain of 232,000 the month before, indicating that job growth is slowing.