NFIB points to its research that shows inflation and expectations for a better business environment are major concerns for small business owners. This month, inflation overtook labor quality as the top problem for small business owners, which expectations for better business conditions in the next six months hit a record low.

According to NFIB’s latest survey:

• Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months decreased 14 points to a net negative 49%, the lowest level recorded in the 48-year-old survey.
• Forty-seven percent of owners reported job openings that could not be filled, a decrease of one point from February.
• The net percent of owners raising average selling prices increased four points to a net 72%, the highest reading in the survey’s history.

Legislators gaveled out last month without passing important small business reforms to make sure that Virginia small business owners have the resources they need to move forward during the recovery.

“Here’s the deal. Lawmakers need to get back to the table and finish what they started. While there have been some successes, such as the removal of unnecessary COVID-19 restrictions and the passage of a bill that would prevent small business owners from a costly health care mandate, lawmakers have spent the past few weeks doing nothing but squabbling over the budget when they could be passing real relief.

Take a look at the latest numbers from NFIB: the small business owners who survived the pandemic are now struggling with the highest inflation in 30 years plus added concerns about the country’s economic outlook. That’s the reason why lawmakers here in Virginia need to get their act together and pass reforms that would not only help the main stay of our economy, small business owners, but every Virginian. Small businesses need three things: A reduction in taxes in the form of conforming Virginia’s standard deduction to the federal level, gas tax relief and fully funding the unemployment trust fund,” said Julia Hammond, NFIB State Director in Virginia.
 

Increasing Virginia’s standard deduction to the federal standard deduction. It would put as much as $13,000 per year back into the pockets of some small business owners.

At the beginning of the legislative session, NFIB launched a statewide campaign that highlights the challenges facing Virginia small businesses, and there is more work to be done.

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 randomly drawn from NFIB’s membership. The report is released on the second Tuesday of each month. This survey was conducted in March 2022.