Under Biden and his allies in Congress, small businesses have been tormented by incompetent policymaking in the name of a radical agenda. Their reckless spending has wrought an economic recession, plagued by skyrocketing inflation, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages. Main Street struggles to keep their doors open everyday while Democrats claim to have the answers to the problems they caused. Democrats have no real plan. Washington needs to get out of the way and allow room for pro-growth economic reforms to let our primary job creators flourish. When small businesses are strong, the next great economy is on the way.
The below October 2022 Small Business Snapshot features numbers and news updates to provide more insight into the current small business economy.
MAIN STREET MEASUREMENTS:
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (INFLATION)
- The prices consumers paid for goods and services increased .4 percent in September as compared to August but totaled an 8.2 percent increase when measured over the last 12 months.
PRODUCER PRICE INDEX
- The producer price index increased .4 percent in September but registered an increase of 8.5 percent year over year.
JOB OPENINGS
- At the end of August, businesses were unable to fill a damagingly high 10.1 million jobs and a near record 4.2 million workers quit their jobs.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
- 263,000 jobs were created in September, and the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5 percent. 5.8 million Americans are unemployed.
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE
- The labor force participation rate decreased to 62.3 percent in September.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE WEEKLY CLAIMS
- For the week ending October 8, 2022, the Department of Labor reported that initial unemployment claims were 228,000.
PERSONAL CONSUMPTION EXPENDITURES PRICE INDEX (CORE PCE which excludes energy and food)
- The core PCE price index increased to 4.9 percent in August when measured year over year.
BUSINESS FORMATION STATISTICS
- Business formation applications totaled 425,741 in September marking an increase of 1.0 percent over last month.
HIGH PROPENSITY BUSINESS FORMATION STATISTICS
- New businesses categorized as having an increased likelihood of having employees and a payroll, otherwise known as High Propensity Businesses, totaled 140,186 (an increase of 1.2 percent) in September.
CONSUMER SENTIMENT
- The initial consumer sentiment reading for October registered 59.8. In comparison, the October 2021 reading was 71.7.
COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LOAN DATA
- As of October 14, 2022, commercial and industrial loans totaled $2.747 trillion.
SBA LENDING DATA
- The SBA approved a total of $25.6 billion 7(a) Loans through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2022.
NEWS YOU CAN USE:
Job Creators Network: “Core Inflation Rises to New 40-Year High, Job Creators Network Reacts” (HERE)
- “‘President Biden’s policies have led to the fastest core inflation in 40 years, significantly reducing Americans’ purchasing power and living standards.’”
- “‘The number we see for September benefits from a decrease in the energy index.’”
- “‘As winter approaches and fuel demand increases, Americans can add heat to the list of basic necessities that have become gut-wrenching financial decisions under Biden’s administration, alongside food and shelter.’”
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council: “Bad Policy Fuels Inflation Woes for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses” (HERE)
- “President Biden’s policies are a key source of inflation. The hyper-regulatory agenda and regulatory threats being pursued across all sectors – from technology to energy, the financial sector and more – as well as intrusive and costly rules governing the workforce and many critical areas of our economy, are making a horrible inflation situation much worse.”
- “A change in Congress to provide a check on these reckless and archaic policies cannot come quick enough.”
Business Wire: “Small Businesses Fight to Navigate Inflationary Costs, Supply Chain Disruptions and New Workplace Models, Staples Study Finds” (HERE)
- “Inflation is top of mind for small businesses, with over half (53%) of small business decision makers reporting that cost increases due to inflation have a major impact on their business, more than any other challenges currently faced.”
- “Supply chain disruption was the second most cited challenge, with almost 1 in 3 (30%) reporting it as having a major impact on their business.”
- “Employee turnover and hiring (25%), adapting workplaces for hybrid work (17%), and encouraging employees to return to work (16%) were next on the list of issues impacting small businesses.”
The Wall Street Journal: “Americans Spend Less on Gas, More on Food as Inflation Varies Across Items” (HERE)
- “Shoppers spent more at the market, restaurants and bars last month as overall food prices shot up 0.8% in September from the month before, the same pace as in August, and 11.2% from September of 2021.”
- “Prices rose at record rates from the year before for several basics on household shopping lists.”
- “Prices for food consumed at home—essentially groceries—climbed 0.7% in September from August, and 13% from a year earlier.”
The Hill: “Here’s Why the Price of Groceries Keeps Rising” (HERE)
- “Americans continue to pay more at the grocery store as surging food inflation shows no signs of slowing down.”
- “Grocery prices rose 13 percent over the last year and 0.7 percent in September alone, outpacing the annual 8.2 percent inflation rate for all consumer products, according to the most recent Labor Department data.”
- “The price of fruits and vegetables increased by 10.4 percent annually, while milk rose 15.2 percent and eggs soared 30.5 percent.”
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