By KENT HOOVER
American City Business Journals

Only 29 percent of owners of small- and mid-size businesses plan to take out a new loan or line of credit over the next six months, according to a quarterly survey conducted for PNC Financial Services Group.

The survey found that 90 percent plan to cut business expenses, and 23 percent expect to lay off employees in the next six months. Only 26 percent expect sales to increase - half the percentage of those who expected sales gains a year ago. Nearly half expect that profits will decrease in the near term.

"These findings support PNC's forecast that the U.S. economy will continue to suffer into the second half of the year," said PNC Chief Economist Stuart Hoffman.

It will be 2010 before the economy gets "real traction from the various federal policy stimulus initiatives," Hoffman said.

If the recession continues over the next six months, 43 percent of U.S. companies probably will make across-the-board budget cuts. That's according to a new poll by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The next most likely step would be to reduce staff through attrition, while 40 percent of human-resources executives said hiring freezes would be put into place. Freezing employee wages was next, followed by cuts in employee bonuses. Only 24 percent expect layoffs.

Layoffs "are becoming more of a last option that many business leaders would take," said SHRM President and CEO Laurence O'Neil. "This finding underscores the seriousness of the recession, as many companies find they cannot survive without some degree of layoffs."

More than 70 percent of the CEOs of America's largest companies expect to reduce employment at their businesses over the next six months, according to a survey by the Business Roundtable. Two-thirds expect a decline in sales and capital spending.