January marked the 25th consecutive month the nation’s leading small business economic barometer was below its 50-year average, according to the latest Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
NFIB’s monthly Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report is used by the Federal Reserve, Congressional leaders, administration officials, and state legislatures across the nation, says Amanda Fisher, Michigan state director for the NFIB.
It’s regarded as the bellwether on the health and welfare of main street enterprises, which employ half of all workers, generate more net new jobs than large corporations, and give many their first start in their working life.
The SBET (Optimism Index) is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs 10 people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.
Report highlights show:
- The frequency of reports of positive profit trends was a net negative 30 percent, five points worse than in December.
- About 20 percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, down three points from last month and one point behind labor quality as the top problem.
- Small business owners’ plans to fill open positions softened, with a seasonally adjusted net 14 percent planning to create new jobs in the next three months, down two points from December and the lowest level since May 2020.
- About 39 percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down one point from December and the lowest reading since January 2021.
The poor economic news came on the same day Michigan small business owners began bracing for the full effect of state’s repeal of the Right to Work law and reimposition of prevailing wage regulations on job creators, says Fisher.
“Small business job creators continue to be discouraged about their ability to find and keep qualified employees and to afford the necessary goods they need to operate,” says Fisher. “As the election season ramps up across Michigan and candidates claim to stand up for small business, it is well to remember the votes of lawmakers that make main street business owners’ jobs harder and harder.”
Michigan’s march backwards to “the failed labor and economic policies” was passed by the legislative majority’s party, says Fisher.
“Workers will now have to choose between accepting a job and joining a union, harming our members, main street small businesses, and Michigan’s economic viability,” says Fisher. “Further, the new regulation and shady enforcement tactics for big labor’s prevailing wage boondoggle will particularly burden already disadvantaged small businesses. Despite the economic evidence of the last decade, last year Lansing turned its back on free enterprise, worker freedom, and greater growth and prosperity for all Michiganders. Is it any surprise Michigan’s small business owners are pessimistic?”
