Local Comment on Today’s National Economic Poll

Date: August 11, 2020

Washington state’s actions hindering near-term recovery

OLYMPIA, Wash., Aug. 11, 2020—The latest results from the nation’s bellwether measurement of its Main Street economy did not have much good news to announce this morning, but states like Washington are not doing much to help.

NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report (Optimism Index) fell 1.8 points to 98.8 in July, near the survey’s historical average. Overall, 4 of the 10 Index components improved, 5 declined, and 1 was unchanged. The NFIB Uncertainty Index increased 7 points to 88. Reports of expected better business conditions in the next six months declined 14 points to a net 25 percent.

“With so many states, like Washington, either pausing or rolling-back business re-openings, it’s not surprising that Main Street is less optimistic about a near-term recovery than it was a month or two ago,” said Patrick Connor, Washington state director for NFIB.

NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends Data with Quarterly surveys since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. The sample is drawn from the membership files of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). 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.

“This summer has been challenging for many small business owners who are working hard to keep their doors open and remain in business,” said NFIB’s Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business represents nearly half of the GDP and this month we saw a dip in optimism. There is still plenty of work to be done to get businesses back to pre-crisis numbers.”

Keep up with the latest Washington state small-business news at www.nfib.com/washington or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA

Contact: Patrick Connor, Washington State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]

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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 Washington
711 Capitol Way South
Suite 505
Olympia, WA 98501
360-786-8675
NFIB.com/WA
Twitter: @NFIB_WA

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