WAYNE COUNTY AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
  • Fire Resources
  • Committees
    • Awards, Celebrations & Events
    • Business Education
    • Buy Local >
      • Love Local 2023
    • Issues & Advocacy
    • HYPE Wayne County
    • Membership Outreach
  • Membership
    • New Members - April 2023
    • Business Directory
    • Member Benefits >
      • ADP
      • Chamber Health and 401k Plans Info
      • Earlham College Hometown Scholarship Application
      • United Healthcare
      • WC Sherriff's Safety Audits
    • Membership Application
    • Buy Local Certified Program >
      • Buy Local Certified Businesses
    • Member Login
    • Testimonials
  • Events & News
    • May at the Chamber
    • Upcoming Events
    • Chamber Calendar
    • News
    • School Is Cool
    • Chamber Ireland Trip 2024
    • Flavor of Wayne County
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact
    • Partners
  • Community Links
    • East Central Indiana
    • EDC of Wayne County >
      • Home in Wayne
    • Education
    • Forge Your Path ECI
    • Government
    • IN Small Business Development Center
    • Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau
  • Fire Resources
  • Committees
    • Awards, Celebrations & Events
    • Business Education
    • Buy Local >
      • Love Local 2023
    • Issues & Advocacy
    • HYPE Wayne County
    • Membership Outreach
  • Membership
    • New Members - April 2023
    • Business Directory
    • Member Benefits >
      • ADP
      • Chamber Health and 401k Plans Info
      • Earlham College Hometown Scholarship Application
      • United Healthcare
      • WC Sherriff's Safety Audits
    • Membership Application
    • Buy Local Certified Program >
      • Buy Local Certified Businesses
    • Member Login
    • Testimonials
  • Events & News
    • May at the Chamber
    • Upcoming Events
    • Chamber Calendar
    • News
    • School Is Cool
    • Chamber Ireland Trip 2024
    • Flavor of Wayne County
  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Contact
    • Partners
  • Community Links
    • East Central Indiana
    • EDC of Wayne County >
      • Home in Wayne
    • Education
    • Forge Your Path ECI
    • Government
    • IN Small Business Development Center
    • Wayne County Convention & Tourism Bureau

News

The State of Small Business Now

5/4/2023

0 Comments

 
By U.S. Chamber of Commerce
What you need to know about small business in America including the latest data on job creation, business starts, and more.
Key Takeaways
  • There are 33.2 million small businesses in America, which combined account for 99.9% of all U.S. businesses.
  • Small businesses are credited with just under two-thirds (63%) of the new jobs created from 1995 to 2021.
  • In 2021, a record breaking 5.4 million new business applications were filed in the U.S.

In terms of their impact on the economy, small businesses aren’t actually that small.
Small businesses is generally defined by the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) as independent businesses having fewer than 500 employees. Based on SBA's definition, there are  33.2 million small businesses in America, which account for 99.9% of all U.S. firms.
Small businesses are credited with just under two-thirds (63%) of the new jobs created from 1995 to 2021 or 17.3 million new jobs. Small businesses represent 97.3% of all exporters and 32.6% of known export value ($413.3 billion). They also employ almost half (46%) of America's private sector workforce and represent 43.5% of gross domestic product.
By almost any measure, small businesses are a vital part of the American economy and workforce.
Small business starts reach new highsEntrepreneurship is booming in the U.S. In 2021 alone, a record breaking 5.4 million new business applications were filed, and nearly as many (5.1 million) were filed in 2022.
"Entrepreneurship is booming in the U.S. In 2021 alone, a record breaking 5.4 million new business applications were filed."
New economic needs and changing consumer preferences during the COVID-19 pandemic created more circumstances for new businesses to start. Many individuals turned their ideas and hobbies into a business that could be run from home and the number of e-commerce retailers skyrocketed. Professional and business services was not far behind, as entrepreneurs tapped into the need for personal consulting services.
The U.S. Chamber has set up an interactive map to track the increase in new business applications by state.
Inflation bitesAmid historically high inflation, many small businesses are struggling to keep up with rising prices.  Over the past year, inflation has been the top concern of small businesses by far, according to the MetLife and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index. In the latest survey, over half of small businesses said inflation is the top challenge facing the small business community.
Access to capital declinesOver the long term, small businesses’ perceived access to capital to fund and grow their business has declined.
According to the Q1 2023 Small Business Index, almost half (49%) of small business owners said their current access to capital or loans is good. This is slightly lower than those who rated their access to capital as good in Q2 2022 (54%) and significantly lower than in Q2 2017 (67%).
Small business owners are working harderSmall business owners report working longer hours than they used to just a few years ago.
Six years ago, 30% of small business said they were working more hours than they were a year ago. In 2022, half (50%) of small business owners said they are working more hours now than they were a year ago. This equates to a very significant 20-percentage point increase in the share of small business owners that report working more hours.  
One factor that might be contributing to owners working longer hours is the persistent worker shortage. Right now, we have more than 10.8 million open jobs in the U.S., but only 5.9 million unemployed workers. In other words, if every unemployed person in the country found a job, we would still have almost 5 million open jobs. The lack of workers is hitting small businesses across almost every industry: Recently, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that almost half (47%) of small business owners reported job openings that were hard to fill.
Strengthening local communitiesConsumers are increasingly looking to support businesses in their local communities. Small Business Saturday has become a great way to support small business owners in neighborhoods across the country every year around the holidays—but there are many reasons to support local businesses year-round.  
At the same time, small businesses are looking to reciprocate the goodwill and give back to their local communities in return. When asked about how they have engaged with their community in the past year, here are small businesses’ most popular answers:
  • 70% have encouraged employees to shop at local small businesses.
  • 66% have donated to local charities over the past year.
  • 64% say they sponsored or donated goods/services to local events.
  • 56% say they offered discounts to certain groups within the community, like teachers or veterans.
To keep up with the U.S. Chamber’s latest small business content, visit the Small Business page.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021

    Categories

    All
    Member News
    Press Release

    RSS Feed

Diamond Partners  

Picture
Picture

PLATINUM PARTNERS

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Wayne County Area Chamber of Commerce.  All Rights Reserved.
 33 South 7th Street, Suite 2 | Richmond, Indiana 47374​
Phone:(765) 962-1511
| chamber@wcareachamber.org | sitemap