Inflation Continues to Plague Small Business Owners

August 14, 2024

The July Small Business Economic Trends survey found that 25% of small business owners cited inflation as their top concern – a 4-point increase from the June survey.

Inflation Continues to Plague Small Business Owners

What it means: Although optimism among small business owners continued to improve in July, inflation remains the top concern for small business owners. Our take: The future remains uncertain for small business owners as they face numerous cost pressures, including labor costs.

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The NFIB Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) July report revealed that even with the Optimism Index increasing to 93.7, the highest point since February 2022, small business owners remain uncertain about future conditions. Labor remains an issue. The cost of labor adds to the cost pressures impacting the bottom line of many small business owners. Eighty-six percent of small business owners couldn’t find enough skilled workers to fill positions in July, and 38% reported having a job opening they could not fill, up one point from June. The full Small Business Economic Trends report and NFIB Jobs Report are available for further analysis.

Topics:

Economy

Labor

Research

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