Main Street Monday – 30% of Main Street Says Supply Chain Issues are Significant

August 16, 2021

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Main Street Monday – 30% of Main Street Says Supply Chain Issues are Significant

“Small business owners are losing confidence in the strength of the economy and expect a slowdown in job creation,” says NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “As owners look for qualified workers, they are also reporting that supply chain disruptions are having an impact on their businesses. Ultimately, owners could sell more if they could acquire more supplies and inventories from their supply chains.”

These are some key takeaways from the NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report:
• More than 30% of small business owners reported supply chain disruptions were having a significant impact on their business/es in July. Owners reporting inventory increases decreased 7 points to a net -6%. Increasing one point and reaching a historical high, 12% of small business owners say their current inventory stock is “too low”.
• 49% of small business owners reported unfilled job openings in July. This is up three points from June and is a record high reading for the NFIB report. 61% of owners were hiring or trying to hire in July. 57% of owners report few to no “qualified” candidates for the position they were trying to fill.
• Of all small business owners who participated in the report, 5% reported higher nominal sales in July, a four-point decrease from June. The net percent of owners expecting higher real sales volume decreased 11 points to a net -4%.
• Inflation has seen minor improvements since June. The percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased one point to a net 46%. Down two points, 52% of owners reported higher average prices.

“The virus continues to create uncertainty about its impact on people and the response of government regulators,” reads the report. “Economic disruptions related to Covid will likely continue to into 2022 for many. Overall, the second half will be OK, what we take into 2022 remains to be seen.”

Source:
NFIB July Report