Even in the face of stubborn inflation, small business owners are taking a more positive tone. Optimism surrounding the economy is growing, with the CNBC | SurveyMonkey Small business confidence rose to its highest level since President Joe Biden took office, according to the latest quarterly data released Thursday morning.
28% of small business owners describe the current state of the economy as “excellent” or “good,” up five percentage points from the previous quarter and up from 18% year over year, according to the report. CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey For the first quarter of 2024. Survey respondents were the most optimistic since CNBC and SurveyMonkey began asking this question in the second quarter of 2022.
The Small Business Confidence Index reading of 47 out of 100 represents the highest reading since Joe Biden took office in the first quarter of 2021.
Modern A series of data It found that consumers and small business owners are beginning to show more confidence about the economy, even as challenges persist.
“We’re seeing kind of a shift potentially around the corner in terms of small business optimism,” said Sam Gutierrez, senior research scientist at SurveyMonkey, noting an uptick in survey responses about economic strength and the overall anti-inflation trend. After two years of stagnation in the data of this survey.
The first quarter survey was conducted online from January 22 to February 1, 2024, among a national sample of 3,119 small business owners ages 18 and older using SurveyMonkey Methodology.
Inflation – which has proven to be stubbornly based Latest data Even as significant progress has been made in bringing prices down from their peak level, they still weigh heavily on owners, with nearly a third saying they currently represent the biggest risk to business. That’s more than double the amount that cited consumer demand, interest rates, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions as key issues.
“Inflation remains top of mind,” Gutierrez said. “But we see this cautious optimism about inflation and costs overall.”
Confidence in the Fed to control inflation now stands at 35% among small business owners, the highest percentage since the beginning of 2022. The percentage of business owners (29%) who say inflation has peaked, while still a minority among Americans . The poll audience is also at its highest level since the beginning of 2022.
Inflation is part of how owners surveyed say they will evaluate candidates for the 2024 election, with 60% of small business owners reporting that inflation and interest rates are their top issue when it comes to deciding who to vote for in November, along with economic growth ( 60%, followed by tax policy (51%).
Inflation problems have hurt John Moorman’s small business, Celtic Tides, over the past year. Moorman imports and sells items from Wales, Ireland and Scotland, including kilts, jewelery and more. The Lexington, Virginia-based company celebrated its 25th anniversary.
John Moorman and his wife, Mary Jo, run Celtic Tides, a small retail store in Lexington, Virginia, that sells goods imported from Wales, Ireland and Scotland.
John and Mary Jo Moorman
“When you’re dealing with an imported good, rising costs hit us from many directions. The cost of international shipping has gone up, the cost of items that are manufactured in the places we buy our products from, their costs have all gone up, and their value has gone down,” he told CNBC. Its costs rose by as much as 15%, but it passed on less than half of that to the consumer.
“We are deferring price increases, of course, as much as we can,” he said. “But inevitably, some of these costs will have to be passed on.”
Right now, Moorman’s biggest concern is the lack of consumer spending, although he generally feels this year will be better than last.
“It’s been a very strange year so far. There have been times when we were normally busy and we weren’t, and times when we normally expected to be quiet and we were busy, so the year so far is we fell behind last year, so,” Moorman said. “We as a society, I would say, are a little concerned.” “I think there is still a lot of concern about rising costs.”
