In May of 2011, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released the results of its inaugural quarterly Small Business Outlook Survey. The quarterly surveys are designed to track the small business community’s outlook on their business, the local economy, and the national economy over time. Small business owners are polled nation-wide, and respondents include U.S. Chamber members and non-members.

Quarter 4
Small Business Outlook Survey - January 2013

Among the key findings from the small business owners surveyed:

Small Business Climate Remains Bleak

• Eight-out-of-ten small businesses (82%) continue to think the U.S. economy is off on the wrong track. More than half, 54%, expect the small business climate to worsen in the next two years.
• 88% of small businesses are looking for more certainty, opposed to more assistance from Washington.

 
Regulatory Uncertainty Impacts Hiring

• 86% of small businesses believe that regulations, restrictions, and taxes will negatively impact their ability to operate. Health care regulations cause the most concern, followed by labor rules and environmental laws.
• 75% of small businesses expect the Affordable Care Act to increase costs for their business; 5% expect the law to make health care coverage more affordable. In terms of hiring, 71% think that implementation of the health care law will make it harder to hire more employees.

 
Small Businesses Look for Solutions to Fiscal Challenges

• 88% of all small businesses surveyed are supportive of addressing entitlement spending to resolve America’s growing financial challenges and escalating debt.
• 62% see the current debt and deficit as a threat to the success of their businesses.
• 92% of small businesses feel that a comprehensive approach to energy exploration and increased revenue from production is important to addressing our country’s fiscal challenges.

Methodology

The Q4 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Outlook Survey was conducted online between December 17, 2012 and January 2, 2013 by Harris Interactive among 1,482* Small Business Executives (defined as executive level position in a company with fewer than 500 employees and annual revenue less than $25 M).

*658 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Members and 824 Non-U.S. Chamber of Commerce Members, weighted to be representative of the small business population

Quarter 3
Small Business Outlook Survey - October 2012

Key Findings
Prolonged Uncertainty is Impacting Hiring:

• Uncertainty is at its highest level since last year; 49% of small businesses are not sure if their business’s best days are ahead or behind them.
  
  
  
• 84% say they are pessimistic about their future operations in light of recent unemployment numbers and low workforce participation.
• Only 17% of small businesses surveyed expect to add staff in 2013, reflecting a steady downward trend over the course of the year.

Impending “Fiscal Cliff” Adding to Economic Fears:

• There was an increase in intensity among those who are concerned about the fiscal cliff. 72% say they are very concerned, which is significantly higher than the 65% reported last quarter.
• 62% believe that the expiration of 2001 and 2003 tax rates and other business provisions, coupled with sequestration cuts, will have a significant negative impact on their business’s growth, up from 59% in the previous quarter. In total, 89% believe these tax increases will negatively impact their operations.
  
  
  

Leadership in Washington Affects the Small Business Outlook:

• 76% of small businesses say the health care bill makes it harder to hire more employees.
• 79% of small businesses surveyed feel that the Administration is not doing enough to keep energy prices low, and 76% say that higher energy prices threaten their business.
  
  

Business Community Highly Motivated to Vote in November:

• Small business owners are motivated to vote in this election: 97% are motivated and 92% say they are very motivated.
• There is still overwhelming support among small businesses for candidates who support free enterprise, with 97% citing it as a factor in how they vote.
  
  

Quarter 2
Small Business Outlook Survey - July 2012 

Key Findings 
Flat Economic Growth and Uncertainty Continues to Limit Hiring

• Eight-out-of-ten small businesses continue to think the national economy is off on the wrong track and more than half (53%) of small businesses surveyed cite economic uncertainty as their top concern.  Only 14% say the national economy is on the right track.

• Following the Supreme Court’s decision on the President’s health care law, only 3% of small business owners report that the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the law will make them more likely to hire new employees. The vast majority said they would be less likely to hire or that their workforce would stay the same size.  When asked directly what the impact would be, 72% said that the health care law will make it harder for their business to hire.

Quarter 1
Small Business Outlook Survey - March 2012 


Key Findings 
The Small Business Outlook is Improving but Hasn’t Impacted Hiring Trends

• While small business confidence is increasing, with a 7% increase in the confidence of the economy since January, hiring has remained stagnant. Q1 saw a slight increase in the number of small businesses who have lost employees in the last year (30%). Nearly half of small business respondents (49%) have kept the same number of staff, and only 20% have hired in the last year. 
• Concerns about over-regulation are the highest we’ve seen in the past year, with 42% of small businesses citing it as a major concern and 52% citing regulations as the top threat to their business, increasing 9 percentage points since last June. 

• What do concerns about regulations and policies mean for small businesses? Stalled growth. 80% of small businesses surveyed report the taxation, regulation, and legislation from Washington make it harder for their business to hire more employees. Nearly three-out-of-four (73%) of small businesses surveyed cite the recent health care law as an obstacle to growing their business and hiring more employees.

Quarter 4
Small Business Outlook Survey - January 2012 


Key Findings 
I. Uncertainty Continues to be the Biggest Challenge for Small Businesses 

• The small business outlook for the national economy still shows that the vast majority think our country is off on the wrong track (85%).
• Of small businesses polled, 52% perceive their top issue and biggest challenge as the general economic climate. Half of all small businesses surveyed are not sure if America’s best days are ahead or behind, and the threat of over-regulation continues to cause concern.

• What is the impact of regulation and the new health care law?  Fewer jobs.  78% of small businesses surveyed report the taxation, regulation and legislation from Washington make it harder for their business to hire more employees.  And, 74% say the recent health care law makes it harder for their business to hire more employees. 

• What do small business leaders want Washington to do? Eight out of ten say they would rather have Washington stay out of the way than provide a helping hand. Eight-six percent say they would rather have more certainty from Washington than more assistance (6%) to deal with the economy.

Quarter 3
Small Business Outlook Survey - October 2011


Key Findings
The small business outlook on the U.S. economy continues to decline.
Among executives from small businesses, during the last three months there has been little improvement, and some decline, in overall attitudes about the economy. Nine out of ten small business owners now believe the U.S. economy is on the wrong track.

Compared to findings from Q2, fewer small businesses plan to hire additional employees–
only 17% of small businesses expect to add employees over the next year. After general
economic uncertainty, the greatest obstacles to hiring more employees are uncertainty about
what Washington will do next, lack of sales and the requirements of the new health care law.

Uncertainty continues to be the biggest challenge for small businesses.
The majority of small businesses (52%) still perceives their top issue and biggest challenge as the general economic climate; however, challenges presented by recent legislation and over-regulation continue to elicit concern from small businesses.

Despite its passage a year and a half ago, the challenges presented by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act continue to grow, with 41% of respondents citing the bill as a top concern in October (an increase from 39% in July).

What do small business leaders want Washington to do? More than three-out-of-four say they would rather have Washington stay out of the way than provide a helping hand. 86% say they would rather have more certainty from Washington than more assistance (7%) to deal with the economy.
President Obama's jobs plan falls flat.
Small business owners see little to be excited about in the President Obama’s jobs plan. More than three-in-four small business owners have an unfavorable opinion of his plan and two-thirds have a strongly unfavorable view of the proposal.

Owners of small business rate the individual elements of the Chamber’s open letter as highly effective. Specifically, small businesses think that the individual elements—to produce more American energy, speed up the permitting process, and provide tax incentives that create jobs and the proposal that would expand trade—would all be effective ways to create jobs. 80% of respondents saw increased American energy production as effective for job creation.

In head-to-head tests, executives from small businesses strongly prefer the components of the U.S. Chamber’s plan over President Obama’s, with 85% expressing support for the Chamber’s six point plan and 15% for the American Jobs Act.



Quarter 2
Small Business Outlook Survey - July 2011 

Key Findings
Small businesses believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.
84% of small business owners say U.S. economy is on the wrong track and 79% believe Washington should get out of the way of small businesses, instead of offering a helping hand (14%). However, demonstrating their intrinsic optimism, 61% believe their own business is on the right track.

Uncertainty is one of the top three important challenges facing small businesses.
Uncertainty is fueled by growing debt and deficit (46%) and over-regulation (35%). Economic uncertainty is the greatest obstacle to hiring more employees (55%).

Nearly 80% of small business owners view regulatory environment as unreasonable.
85% say that they are somewhat or very worried about the impact of regulations on their business.

Health care and government spending are top challenges for small businesses.
Small businesses cite economic uncertainty (49%), the national debt (47%) and health care (39%) as their top concerns.

Quarter 1
Small Business Outlook Survey - April 2011 


Key Findings
The small business climate has deteriorated.
Small business owners almost universally agree—by a 73% to 17% margin—that the climate of the last two years has hindered their growth. Respondents were split in how they view the next two years, with 38% believing it will improve, 37% believing that it will worsen, and the remainder uncertain.

Uncertainty abounds with small businesses.
They are worried about current regulations, but are even more concerned about what Washington will do next. 49% say they “really don’t know” if their business’ best days are ahead of them.

Small business continues to be hesitant to hire.
55% of respondents cited economic uncertainty as their greatest hiring obstacle and 35% said Washington uncertainty impacted growth, while 35% cited too little revenue as their greatest obstacle. 70% of respondents do not plan to hire new employees next year, and 9% will continue layoffs.

Two of the top issues of concern are America’s debt and the health care law.
80% said America’s debt and deficit have a negative impact on their business, and 72% of respondents say the health care law has made hiring more difficult.

Small businesses want Washington to get out of the way.
In a commanding majority, 79% of small business owners say they want more certainty, and only 14% want more government assistance.