The MetLife & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for Q3 released on August 23rd showed that 41% of small business owners are optimistic about the national economy, an eight percentage point increase from 33% last quarter. While 81% are comfortable with current cash flow, and 56% expect revenue to increase, the percentage of businesses planning to increase staff decreased 5 percent from 29% in Q2 to 24% in Q3.
The Index is released quarterly, evaluating American small business owners while bringing attention to the role they play in the national economy thanks to a multi-year collaboration between the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife. The scores on the Index account for business owner’s responses to 10 questions across the three topics of views on the economy and external forces impacting their company, the current health of their business, and their expectations and plans for the near future.
The overall score for the Q3 Index is 62.3, a 1.7 point increase from last quarter’s 60.6 points, indicating that 62.3% of surveyed small business owners are positive about the environment they operate in and their companies as a whole. Even while a majority of small businesses have confidence in the future, 50% also believe that job candidates in the workforce today are unprepared for job opportunities, additionally noting that the skills needed for available jobs are not taught, a continuing trend from Q2.
Suzanne Clark, a senior executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, addressed this skill gap in a press release, saying, “Insights uncovered in this quarter’s Small Business Index reinforce the importance of the business community and our education leaders collaborating on effective ways to close the skills gap. It’s a must to produce a workforce that in turn will power a stronger economy.”
