Half of small businesses remain concerned with inflation, report worker shortage

Washington, DC, December 12, 2023 — After the MetLife/U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index hit its highest point since the start of the pandemic last quarter, the Q4 2023 Index score is down to 61.3 and more closely aligned with sentiments from late 2022 and early 2023. Last quarter’s improving outlooks on the economic environment were short-lived, as a majority of small businesses once again feel the U.S. economy is in poor health. As seen over the past year, about half of small businesses this quarter report inflation as their biggest challenge. When it comes to hiring, nearly half of small businesses who have searched for talent in 2023 say it is hard to offer competitive pay and benefits to attract new talent. That said, about half of small businesses in general say there is a worker shortage in their area. At the same time, this quarter’s survey shows a slight softening in the number of small business owners who are very comfortable with their current cash flow and who expect their revenue to increase next year; although, both of these measures are in line with attitudes from earlier this year.

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About the Study

These are the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between October 5-24, 2023. For this survey, a sample of 751 small business owners and operators age 18+ from the continental U.S. Alaska and Hawaii was interviewed online in English.

The sample was randomly drawn from partner online panel sources that specialize in B2B sample and does not rely on a population frame in the traditional sense. Ipsos uses fixed sample targets, unique to the study, in drawing sample. Small businesses are defined in this study as companies with 500 or fewer employees that are not sole proprietorships. This sample calibrates respondent characteristics to be representative of the U.S. small business population using standard procedures such as raking-ratio adjustments. The source of these population targets is U.S. Census 2020 Statistics of U.S. Businesses dataset. The sample drawn for this study reflects fixed sample targets on firmographics. Post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on region, industry sector and size of business. Additional post-hoc weights were made to the population characteristics on the gender of the business’s owner and whether the business is minority-owned or not. The source of these two weight variables is the Small Business Administration’s 2022 Small Business Profiles.

Statistical margins of error are not applicable to online non-probability polls. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error. Where figures do not sum to 100, this is due to the effects of rounding. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points for all respondents. Ipsos calculates a design effect (DEFF) for each study based on the variation of the weights, following the formula of Kish (1965). This study had a credibility interval adjusted for design effect of the following (n=751, DEFF=1.5, adjusted Confidence Interval=+/-5.9 percentage points).

Starting with the March 2020 survey, small business decision makers are reached via an online survey, in place of the typical phone-based approach. This methodological shift is in response to lower anticipated response rates in dialing owners at their businesses as a result of mandated closures related to the COVID-19 outbreak. While significant changes in data points can largely be attributed to the recent economic environment, switching from a phone to online approach may have also generated a mode effect.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mallory Newall

Vice President, US

Public Affairs

+1 202 374 2613

[email protected]

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