The National Small Business Association (NSBA) released their Mid-Year Economic Report for 2017 on September 12th, highlighting the confidence 83% of small businesses have in the economy, the highest in seven years. While worries over economic certainty are their lowest since February 2008, in contrast the number of businesses expecting and reporting revenue and economic expansion declined as well.
The report surveyed 1,134 small business owners across several industries from manufacturing to finance, collecting answers online from July 24th to August 14th. Across all categories and industries surveyed, the two issues small business owners believe should be addressed first are reigning in the cost of healthcare and having Congress and the Administration end the partisan gridlock.
The survey revealed a number of positive economic signs:
- 45 percent of small businesses say today’s economy is better than six months ago
- 83 percent are confident in the future of their business
- the number of small-business owners feeling economic uncertainty” was a significant challenge to the future growth dropped to 36 percent, the lowest since 2008
Positive indicators were somewhat offset by:
- a drop in the number of small businesses anticipating economic expansion in the next 12 months
- slightly fewer businesses reported revenue growth in the past year
- a fewer number of small-business owners reported hiring in the past 12 months or plans to do so in the coming 12 months.
“In this survey, we also asked several energy-related questions and found that the majority of small-business owners are concerned about future energy costs,” stated NSBA Chair Pedro Alfonso of Dynamic Concepts, Inc. in Washington, D.C. “As such, the majority of small firms annually review their energy costs and take steps to reduce their energy consumption.”
