Local comment on today’s survey results of the small-business economy nationwide
DENVER, April 13, 2021—The release of today’s survey results of the small-business economy showed an improving economic picture nationwide, but Colorado’s small businesses have a good reason to look askance until the fate of one bill in the Colorado Legislature is decided, said the state director for the association that conducted the survey.
For nearly five decades the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) has been taking the pulse of its small-business-owning members and releasing the results through its Small Business Economic Trends report (aka the Optimism Index) monthly.
“While employers everywhere still struggle to find qualified workers, they may be reevaluating the need to even bother here in Colorado, with Senate Bill 176 lurking in the Legislature,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for NFIB. “Conceptually, proponents would have you believe it merely broadens the definition of a hostile work environment, but in real-world reality, it would give further opportunities to attorneys specializing in shake-down lawsuits to find allegedly disgruntled employees for a quicky, lucrative settlement. In short SB 176 paints a target on the backs of small-business owners at a time when every available legislative effort should be made to have them start hiring again.”
From Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist on today’s SBET
“Main Street is doing better as state and local restrictions are eased, but finding qualified labor is a critical issue for small businesses nationwide. Small business owners are competing with the pandemic and increased unemployment benefits that are keeping some workers out of the labor force. However, owners remain determined to hire workers and grow their business.”
About the Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report
The NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends data with quarterly surveys since the 4th quarter of 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. Survey respondents are drawn from a random sample of NFIB’s membership. The report is released on the second Tuesday of each month. Today’s survey was conducted in March 2021.
The SBET’s primary value is anticipating short-run fluctuations in economic activity. An additional value of the SBET is its measurement of small business activities and concerns over time. The benefit of a longitudinal data set offers an invaluable perspective on how policies and business cycles impact small businesses over time. The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small business, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions. Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available.
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected],
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO
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For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Colorado
1700 Lincoln Street, 17th Floor
Denver, CO 80203
303-860-1778
www.nfib.com/colorado
Twitter: @NFIB_CO
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