FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chad Heinrich, Arizona State Director, ch@chadheinrich.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

PHOENIX, April 12, 2022—As expected, today’s release of the nation’s bellwether measurement of Main Street economy wasn’t expected to find much to celebrate, but the Arizona state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which produces the monthly Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report (aka the Optimism Index) reminded everyone that it is a national snapshot not broken down by state and that the situation is a little brighter in Arizona than in most other places.

“It looks to me like our elected officials have some clear direction from small business on what their top concerns are moving past the first quarter of this year,” said Chad Heinrich, NFIB’s Arizona state director. “With a record low expectation for better business conditions to come and inflation now eclipsing all other business problems, I’m thankful that Arizona enjoys a pro-small-business Legislature and elected leaders who take small business concerns to heart and shape policy to stay on the right side of Arizona’s Main Street business owners.”

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“Inflation has impacted small businesses throughout the country and is now their most important business problem. With inflation, an ongoing staffing shortage, and supply chain disruptions, small business owners remain pessimistic about their future business conditions.”

Key findings include:

• 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% (seasonally adjusted), the highest reading in the survey’s history.

Retweet this news release here.

Keep up with the latest on Arizona small business news at www.nfib.com/arizona or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_AZ

###

For 78 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 Arizona
602-263-7690
NFIB.com/AZ
Twitter: @NFIB_AZ