Small- and midsize-business owners are cautiously optimistic about the coming year, with 74% expecting revenue increases and nearly 60% planning to expand their businesses, according to a new survey by Bank of America.
Approximately half of business owners surveyed believed that local (53%), national (48%) and global (45%) economies will improve over the next year, BofA said. Many noted their confidence would improve with stabilization of tariff policy (53%), cooling inflation (52%), lower interest rates (52%) and stronger supply chains (39%).
At the same time, roughly three in five business owners (61%) said that they are currently being affected by labor shortages. Those feeling the labor pinch are personally working more hours due to staff shortages (50%) and raising wages to attract more competitive talent (40%). Because the labor market is tight, only 1% of business owners plan to lay off employees in the next 12 months, with 43% planning to hire more.
