US Small-Business Confidence Above 52-Year Average: SBA

The biggest concern for small businesses currently is the inability to hire skilled individuals, and not trade tariffs, SBA chief Loeffler said.

A small business in Weston, Vt. Brian Logan Photography/Shutterstock

Small-business confidence in the United States is above its 52-year average even after accounting for the negative impacts from the 43-day federal government shutdown, Kelly Loeffler, administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), said during an interview with CNBC on Nov. 28.

“That’s because President [Donald] Trump’s agenda has created tailwinds for small businesses that we haven’t seen in four years,” she said.

“Small businesses are more optimistic than they’ve been in seven years.

“So, what we’ve got going now are tax cuts, deregulation, fair trade. And we see that playing out across the economy with strong economic growth from [gross domestic product], rises in U.S. capital goods orders, inflation coming down to about half of where it was under the Biden administration. So, all of this has set us up for a great shopping season, which is forecast to surpass $1 trillion as we head into the Christmas season.”

The U.S. economy grew by 3.8 percent—higher than initial estimates—in the second quarter, compared with a 0.6 percent contraction in the previous quarter.

The 12-month annual inflation rate in September was 3 percent, down from 5.4 percent in the first September under the Biden administration.

When asked about the impact of tariffs, Loeffler said small businesses, which account for 98 percent of all U.S. manufacturers, were left behind because of decades of unfair trade practices, stemming from bad political and economic policies.

“And President Trump is reversing that to empower U.S. producers, finally, put a level playing field to restore jobs in this country,” she said.

“Small businesses say the number-one concern they have now is a skilled workforce. It’s not tariffs. It was taxes and inflation. But thanks to this economic agenda, that’s getting reversed. And so now we’re really focused on [a] skilled workforce to build those made-in-America products that consumers want.”

In a Nov. 11 statement, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said optimism among small businesses declined slightly in October, with owners reporting lower sales and smaller profits. Despite the decline, the small-business optimism index remained above the 52-year average.

The net percent of owners expecting better business conditions in the future fell by 3 points from September to its lowest level since April, according to the NFIB.

“Additionally, many firms are still navigating a labor shortage and want to hire but are having difficulty doing so,” Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist, said.

On the plus side, uncertainty among owners declined from September to the lowest level this year, according to the federation.

Economic Health, Tariff Issue

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce analysis found that in the third quarter, small businesses were more optimistic about their view of the overall U.S. economy and local economies than they were in the previous quarter.

“Two in five (40 percent) small businesses believe that the U.S. economy is in good health, and 46 percent say the same of their local economy,” it stated.

“Also, fewer see a poor national economy: 42 percent of small businesses believe that the U.S. economy is in poor health (down five percentage points from this time last year).”

The holiday season is expected to see more shoppers, according to a Nov. 20 statement from the National Retail Federation. Between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, a record 186.9 million people are expected to shop, up by 3 million from 2024, according to the trade group. This could provide a significant boost to small businesses.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s tariff policies have been criticized by business groups.

For instance, on Sept. 26, the National Association of Manufacturers said the administration’s investigation into potential tariffs on robotics and industrial machinery could stall manufacturing investment in the United States.

Jay Timmons, the association’s CEO, said tariffs on critical manufacturing inputs would “significantly increase” the costs of installing machinery in factories, hampering investment in new plants.

“The challenge facing the United States today is that our domestic industry can produce at most 84 percent of the inputs manufacturers need to build, modernize, and operate our facilities and to increase production and output,” Timmons said.

“That means that, at an absolute minimum, 16 percent of critical manufacturing inputs must be imported to manufacture more here in the U.S.”

The Trump administration has promoted more investments in the small-business sector, which employs an estimated 46 percent of private-sector workers.

The SBA’s Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) program ended fiscal year 2025 with the “largest level of investment capital in the program’s history,” the agency said in a Nov. 19 statement.

The SBIC supplements private equity capital and debt financing for small businesses to expand and modernize their operations.

In 2025, the program channeled $53 billion to small-business investments, up from $46 billion in the last fiscal year.

“With a record year for SBIC licenses, leverage, and activity, it’s clear that the private sector is responding to the Trump Administration’s historic tax cuts and deregulation to invest for the long term,” Loeffler said.

Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified the National Retail Federation and the SBA’s Small Business Investment Companies program. The Epoch Times regrets the errors.