New Main Street Business Survey: Small Business Confidence Rising!

Reading the daily news, it’s tough to figure out if our economy is thriving or at great risk.  I remain generally optimistic about current economic conditions, so I was pleased to see the latest business survey from Main Street America, which was released today. It shows that surveyed Main Street businesses remain fairly bullish about future economic prospects.  Overall business confidence is up compared to 2022, with 72% of those surveyed projecting revenue increases in 2023.  Inflation and fears of recession are the top concerns, but many of the issues that ranked high in past surveys appear to be less concerning in 2023.  Concerns about supply chain, recruitment, and attracting customers ranked lower when compared to previous surveys. 

Nonetheless, staffing still remains a concern for small business owners.  When asked to discuss which factors most affect their staffing decisions, business owners highlighted their ability pay competitive wages (65%), health care availability (55%), and housing affordability (52%) as top concerns. Child care access and housing availability also ranked highly as issues affecting the ability to locate, recruit, and retain staff.