Small business owners lament inflation

As inflation continues to rise this year, small businesses are feeling the pain.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released a survey of small business owners Tuesday that found the nation’s job creators cite inflation as their top concern more than any other issue.

“Cost pressures remain the top issue for small business owners, including historically high levels of owners raising compensation to keep and attract employees,” Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist, said in a statement. “Overall, small business owners remain historically very pessimistic as they continue to navigate these challenges. Owners are dealing with a rising level of uncertainty but will continue to do what they do best – serve their customers.”

Small business owners’ views on inflation have been persistently low during the Biden administration, and small business optimism has remained poor.

NFIB reports that while April’s numbers are slightly better than the month prior, small business optimism levels still mark “the 28th consecutive month below the 50-year average.”

About 22% of small business owners named inflation as their top concern in running their business.

While inflation has slowed from its breakneck pace earlier in President Joe Biden’s term, prices have not come down from their now-elevated place. On top of that, inflation has sped up this year above experts’ predictions.

As The Center Square previously reported, The federal government’s latest Personal Consumption Expenditure and Consumer Price Index, key markers of inflation, rose 0.3% and 0.4% respectively in March.

Meanwhile, as The Center Square previously reported, other polling from Gallup surveyed Americans from April 1-22 and found that Americans are less optimistic about the economy.

“This is the first time in five months that confidence has not seen a marginal improvement, and the first decline in economic confidence in the past seven months,” Gallup said.

Republicans have used the rising prices against Biden and Democrats.

​​Jack Pandol, spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, argues that Democrats have moved away from celebrating “Bidenomics” because of poor inflation numbers, among other things.

“President Joe Biden began the year confident that his lengthy war on inflation was nearing a desired end,” Pandol said. “But it hasn’t yet materialized. And it’s forcing Biden to adjust what he and his team thought would be a winning economic message for them this election season.”

Biden has insisted that prices are coming down, an apparent reference to the slowing of inflation’s increase. Prices overall have risen nearly 20% since he took office.

However, former President Donald Trump has echoed the Republican message on the campaign trail, telling his supporters at a New Jersey rally about the “Biden inflation nightmare.”