Small Business By The Numbers

The Small Business Optimism Index slipped approximately half a point (0.6 points) in May, its third consecutive monthly decline. The Employment Index remained essentially flat, though that’s not the whole employment picture. Beneath those two quiet Indexes are trends pulling small businesses into uncomfortable areas: price increases — both actual and planned — are back to 2022-2023 levels and empl...

April’s Small Business Economic Trends data shows that optimism has leveled out from March’s sharp decline but remains below the historical average. As businesses continue to adjust to inflated fuel costs, small business owners’ expectations on improving economic conditions fell seven points to their lowest level since October 2024, while earnings trends overall improved for the month. NFIB Resear...

The March Small Business Economic Trends data is largely reflective of small business owners’ and consumers’ reactions to a dramatic spike in oil prices. Small business owners are having to absorb those higher input costs and pass them along to their customers. NFIB Research Center Co-hosts, Holly Wade and Peter Hansen, calibrate what are considered significant changes in a month like this.   Lear...

NFIB’s February Small Business Economic Trends report shows a slight decline of half a point in the Optimism Index, though the Index remains slightly above its historical average (6:12). Podcast co-hosts Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, and Peter Hansen, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, analyze gains in NFIB’s Small Business Employment Index, which shows a balanced lab...

NFIB’s January Small Business Economic Trends report reveals a steady start to 2026 with a modestly positive outlook for small businesses. Podcast co-hosts Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, and Peter Hansen, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, discuss the highlights, changes, and optimism for small businesses as they navigate the new year. They also cover NFIB’snew Small B...

NFIB’s new Small Business Employment Index unifies several jobs-related metrics into one single measure of the small business labor market—essentially, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index but for jobs. This new index is constructed from questions on planned and actual changes in employment and employee compensation, featuring data from the past 40 years. Podcast host Holly Wade, NFIB Research C...

The Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report provides monthly insights into the operating environment for small businesses with data points such as optimism, uncertainty, job openings, pricing, employee compensation, and the health of small businesses. Podcast co-hosts Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, and Peter Hansen, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, discuss the 2...

Take a look back at the 52-year history of NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report. The monthly report provides experts with a critical data framework for the small business economy. Special guest Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s Chief Economist,joins Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, to talk about the report and explore how this data has contributed to our understanding of economic...

Holiday shopping is underway, and small business optimism is increasing in NFIB’s recent Small Business Economic Trends data. Co-hosts Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, and Peter Hansen, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, explore causes for the increase in optimism, including positive news on sales, hiring, and compensation plans. They also discuss less encouraging data i...

Each month, the NFIB Research Center surveys a random sample of NFIB members to collect data for the Small Business Economic Trends Report. To kick off the new research podcast, co-hosts Holly Wade, Executive Director of the NFIB Research Center, and Peter Hansen, NFIB’s Director of Research and Policy Analysis, dive deeper into the key findings from the October 2025 survey. Their discussion cover...

The National Federation of Independent Business has been collecting and analyzing data focused on small businesses for 53 years. In this introductory episode of Small Business by the Numbers, co-hosts Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center Executive Director, and Peter Hansen, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, explainwhy this data matters and provide insight into the topics that will be covered...