Small-business owners are losing confidence

"The latest: Small-business owners' confidence fell this fourth quarter from an all-time high in the third quarter, according to an index from MetLife and the Chamber of Commerce out Wednesday morning and shared exclusively with Axios. It's one of several measures showing weaknesses for small business. By the numbers: 45% of small-business owners said inflation is their biggest challenge in the Chamber's survey, conducted in October during the government shutdown."

"They're raising prices just to keep up: 58% said they expect to raise prices this holiday season, but 52% also expect lower revenue. Still, that's lower than in 2022, when inflation peaked: 69% expected to raise prices, and 61% expected less revenue. Zoom out: Confidence is roughly in line with where it was last year, and that's troubling, says Tom Sullivan, senior vice president of small-business policy at the Chamber. Expectations were sky-high after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed this summer."

"Zoom in: In a separate survey from NFIB on Tuesday, a net 34% of small-business owners said they are raising their average selling prices - a 13-point jump from the previous month, and the largest monthly jump in the survey's 29-year history. Small firms accounted for all the net job losses in the private sector in November, as Axios reported last week."

Small-business owners' confidence declined in the fourth quarter after reaching an all-time high in the third quarter, per a MetLife and Chamber index. Forty-five percent of owners cited inflation as their biggest challenge, and 58% expect to raise prices this holiday season while 52% expect lower revenue. Those shares remain lower than peak 2022 levels. NFIB reported a net 34% of owners raising average selling prices, a record monthly jump. Small firms accounted for all private-sector net job losses in November, though hiring in health care and construction has remained robust. Gusto data show payroll hiring roughly flat and down 5% year-over-year.

Read at Axios