What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

Douglas Blair

•   July 14, 2022

A new poll released by the Job Creators Network Foundation finds that more than 2 out of 3 small businesses feel negatively about the economy and that nearly 3 out of 4 of them will have to “significantly” raise their prices to offset rising inflation. 

These disturbing findings come from the Job Creators Network Foundation’s June Small Business IQ Poll, which sampled 500 small-business owners between June 4 and 28. 

According to the poll, inflation is top of mind for small-business owners, as 46% of respondents say it’s their first or second-biggest concern. At the beginning of the year, 40% noted it as a major problem.  

While inflation ranked as a primary point of concern for small-business owners, high gas prices also registered as a major issue. Some 27% of respondents said that was their top or second-biggest concern, up 4 percentage points from last month, while not even registering as a concern a year ago. 

What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

Additionally, the Job Creators Network Foundation tracks something called the Small Business Intelligence Quotient, which measures a mixture of current and future conditions facing small businesses. The number tracks:  

  • Employer’s current business conditions. 
  • Condition of U.S. economy today.  
  • Current climate for small businesses. 
  • Direction of employer’s business over next three months. 
  • Employer’s plans for hiring over next three months. 
  • Direction of U.S. economy. 
  • Direction of climate for small businesses. 

June’s quotient was 52.7, more than a full-point drop from last month’s 53.9 and a whopping 8 points lower than 60.9 the same time last year. June’s numbers represent a three-month decline and an all-time low.  

What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

The poll found that small-business owners don’t think the Biden administration is doing enough to combat inflation. Some 72% of respondents said President Joe Biden isn’t doing enough to deal with ballooning inflation rates, while just 12% said he is and 16% were unsure. 

What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

The president didn’t fare any better when it came to small-business owners’ assessment of his handling of the supply chain crisis. Again, 72% of respondents said the administration isn’t doing enough, while 16% think it is, for a net approval rating of minus-56 points.  

What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

The majority of small-business owners disagree with the administration’s push to eliminate domestic production of oil and natural gas. Fully 4 in 5—80%—said they support increasing domestic energy production, becoming energy independent, and reducing America’s reliance on foreign oil. 

What’s Prognosis for America’s Small Businesses? New Poll: Not Good 

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email [email protected] and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. 

Douglas Blair
Douglas Blair | Contributor
Douglas Blair is a contributor to The Daily Signal.

Follow on X DouglasKBlair

Oneil The Woketopus book cover

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.
You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.