Updated
September 04, 2026
Published
February 27, 2023
This Week's Highlights
- Main Street Headwinds: High prices continue to cause anxiety on Main Street and cause small employers to scale back growth plans.
- 2026 Outlook: Small business owners show confidence in the health of their firms and profitability continues to inch upward.
- Summary: Small businesses remain resilient despite high prices and employment growth on Main Street holds steady.
Optimism is inching upward among small businesses. Small employers are relying more on existing employees to plow forward through uncertainty towards higher profitability.
Tariff Refund FAQ Guide: Visit this guide for information to help small businesses identify whether they paid IEEPA‑based tariffs and prepare for the emerging refund process.
Navigating the New Tax Law: Don't miss our practical guide to maximizing savings for small businesses under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
ICYMI: As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark unveiled a bold vision for how the business community can help shape the nation’s next chapter. Watch here.
Is your small business a member of the U.S. Chamber? As the nation's leading small business advocacy organization, we can help you with exclusive intelligence and access, a Policy Help Desk, regular updates on economic and business trends, and more.
New Small Business Data
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) August Jobs Report (September 3, 2026)
Insight Summary: Main Street’s job market remains healthy and small employers’ plans to hire reverted back to normal levels after July’s uptick.
- 35% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August (1 point lower than July). The historical average is 24%.
- 56% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in August (5 points lower than July) and 82% of those who hired or tried to hire reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill (3 points lower than July).
- 31% of small business owners raised compensation in August (no change from July) and 18% plan on raising compensation in the next 3 months (1 point lower than July).
- 23% of small business owners cite “labor quality or availability” as their single most important problem (4 points lower than July) The historical average is 12%.
- 17% of small business owners plan on creating new jobs in the next 3 months (3 points lower than July). The historical average is 11%.
Fiserv August Small Business Index (September 2, 2026)
Insight Summary: The overall index held steady, with shoppers spending more, but during fewer visits.
- Month over month sales at small businesses fell in August (-0.2%) and year over year sales continued upward (+1.3% compared to August 2025).
- Average checkout totals rose 3.0% compared to a year ago, continuing the trend of higher spending per visit rather than increased customer traffic.
PayChex August Small Business Employment Watch (September 1, 2026)
Insight Summary: Small businesses continue to rely on their best employees to meet demand.
- Jobs index dropped 0.10% from August and remains in line with the year’s average.
- Weekly earnings growth increased 3% in August and hours-per-week grew 0.07%, remaining in positive growth territory for 6 consecutive months (a record set in 2020).
- Education and Health Services has been in the top 2 sectors for job growth every month since February 2023 and ranked strongest for August.
Chase for Business August Small Business Pulse (August 31, 2026)
Insight Summary: Data from July show profitability on Main Street inching up as payroll growth stabilized.
- Hiring at small businesses stabilized at 18% growth year over year (same as June).
- Profitability for small businesses continued trending upward in July despite continued inflation anxiety, highlighting small business owners’ confidence in their businesses’ health.
- 83% of small business owners report using AI (including AI tools embedded in software applications) and 44% report using AI daily.
- 63% of small business owners believe AI will help their businesses run more efficiently and 58% believe that AI will be essential for competitiveness.
WSJ/Vistage Small Business Small Business CEO Confidence Index (August 20, 2026)
Insight Summary: The 2026 FIFA World Cup sugar rush is over. Confidence on Main Street drops.
- 18% of small business owners say the economy has improved compared to a year ago (5 points lower than July) and 4034% say the economy has gotten worse (6 points worse than July).
- 25% of small business owners believe the economy will improve in the next 12 months (3 points worse than July) and 29% believe the economy will worsen (8 points worse than July).
- 45% of small businesses plan on increasing employees in the next 12-months (5 points lower than July) and 12% plan on decreasing employees (3 points worse than July).
- 32% of small businesses are expecting to increase fixed investments (7 points lower than July).
- 61% of small businesses expect increased revenues in the next 12 months (1 point lower than July) and 14% believe revenues will decrease (3 points worse than July).
- 47% of small business owners believe profitability will increase in the next 12 months (4 points worse than July) and 22% believe that profitability will decrease (3 points worse than July).
Bank of America Institute Small Business Checkpoint (August 18, 2026)
Insight Summary: Profitability growth for small businesses continues to trend positive, resulting in more plans to increase staff.
- 20% of small business owners plan on creating new jobs in the next 3 months (9 points higher than June and a stark improvement from a year ago when job creation was dropping into negative territory).
- Small transportation and manufacturing firms experienced profitability gains in July while apparel and restaurants posted declines.
- Small firm business travel picked up in July, both in spending (because travel is more expensive) and in transactions (number of travel bookings increased 4.5% compared to July 2025).
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for Q2 (July 15, 2026)
Insight Summary: Small business owners voice optimism for future revenues and hiring. High costs continue to be a wet blanket on reinvestment.
- 69% of small businesses are confident in the health of their own business (no change from the last 2 quarters) and 70% are comfortable with their current cash flow (2 points lower than last quarter).
- 33% of small business owners are positive about the health of their local economy (3 points lower than last quarter) and 39% are negative (6 points worse than last quarter).
- 30% of small business owners are positive about the nation’s economic health (2 points higher than last quarter) and 52% are negative (2 points worse than last quarter).
- 57% of small business owners rank inflation as their top concern (4 points higher than last quarter and the 18th consecutive quarter where inflation tops the list).
- 38% of small business owners expect to increase investment in their business in the upcoming year (1 point higher than last quarter).
- 66% of small business owners expect to increase revenue in the next year (5 points higher than last quarter).
- 19% of small business owners reported adding staff over this past year (3 points higher than last quarter) and 35% expect to increase staff over the next 12-months (5 points higher than last quarter).
- 20% of small business owners cited affordability of employee benefits or healthcare as their top concern (highest level in Index’s history (9 years).
Small Business Fast Facts
Honoring America's Top Small Businesses
Explore More Small Business Insights
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Small Business Outlook Podcast
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From Main Street
About the author
Thomas M. Sullivan
Thomas M. Sullivan is senior vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Working with chambers of commerce and the U.S. Chamber’s nationwide network, Sullivan harnesses the views of small businesses and translates that grassroots power into federal policies that bolster free enterprise and reward entrepreneurship. He runs the U.S.
