Despite being the nation’s leading job creators, fewer small businesses plan to hire additional employees over the next year, according to the U.S. Chamber’s quarterly Small Business Outlook Survey.

The third quarter Small Business Outlook—a nationwide survey of more than 1,330 small business owners—found that only 17% of small businesses expect to add employees over the next year. That number is down from 19% in July.

“The voices of Main Street businesses are telling us plain and simple: To start hiring, we need faster economic growth and a change of course in Washington,” said U.S. Chamber President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue. “Washington can help by passing pro-growth policies that will grow the economy, create jobs, and give businesses the certainty they need to invest and hire. With government spending and regulations out of control, small businesses don’t know what’s going to hit them next.”

Twenty-nine percent of respondents cite economic uncertainty as the greatest obstacle to hiring more employees, followed by lack of sales (22%), uncertainty about what Washington will do next (18%), requirements of the new health care law (16%), and too much regulation (8%).

Among taxes, litigation and regulations, roughly half of the small businesses owners surveyed say regulations are the biggest threat to their business. Fifty-six percent of respondents worry more about what regulatory move Washington will make next than regulations that are already on the books.

Since the last survey in July, there’s been no noticeable change in attitudes about the economy.  Nine out of ten small business owners believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track, about the same percentage as July. When asked about current economic challenges and who’s responsible, 44% of small businesses surveyed place the blame on generic “bureaucrats in Washington.”

As for who can put the country and economy back on the right track, executives from small businesses strongly prefer the components of the U.S. Chamber’s plan over President Obama’s, with 85% expressing support for the Chamber’s six-point plan and 15% for the American Jobs Act.

In particular, respondents endorsed the Chamber’s suggestion to increase domestic energy production (80% view as effective), speeding up permitting and provide regulatory relief (74%), and passing tax incentives that will create jobs and increase revenue (67%). 

The survey was conducted online for the Chamber by Harris Interactive between September 29 and October 6, 2011. The survey defined a small business as a company with fewer than 500 employees and annual revenues of less than $25 million.