Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler is optimistic that the economic sentiment for small businesses will return to pre-Iran war levels soon amid a downturn.
“One data point does not a trend make. And the long-term trend under President [Donald] Trump has been for small business optimism to be above its 52-year average under Joe Biden,” she told The Daily Signal at a Tax Day press briefing on Wednesday.
The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Optimism Index fell to 95.8 in March, below the index’s 52-year average of 98. The federation’s Uncertainty Index also rose four points from February, with its mark of 92 well above its historical average of 68.
The Daily Signal asked Loeffler what relief the administration will provide small businesses amid increasing prices and falling small business optimism.
Loeffler said she thinks the decreased optimism is “temporary.”
“We’ll get back on track,” she said.
Under Biden, small business optimism remained below the index’s 52-year average rating for 34 consecutive months, Loeffler said. She explained that “small business was being crushed by regulation, massive red tape, the threat of high taxes, and all the burdens of the green New Deal.”
“So, right now, small businesses are really in growth mode,” Loeffler said. “They’re planning to hire, and the optimism is very strong. If you see in the NAM survey, National Association of Manufacturers, their optimism is up five points. So, I think this is temporary. We’ll get back on track.”
The March rating is a significant decline from recent months. The optimism index remained above the average of 98 in both January and February.
The federation’s chief economist, Bill Dunkelberg, noted that ”the dramatic spike in oil prices has spooked consumers and owners alike.”
”Small business owners are having to absorb those higher input costs and pass them along to their customers,” he said, while noting the ”positives” brought about by the 20% small business deduction in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
