Main Street Monday – Almost 90% of Small Businesses are Impacted by Supply Chain Disruptions

September 20, 2021

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Main Street Monday – Almost 90% of Small Businesses are Impacted by Supply Chain Disruptions

“There is much to worry about for small business owners,” reads the NFIB August Small Business Economic Trends report. NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg says, “The biggest problems facing small employers right now is finding enough labor to meet their demand and for many, managing supply chain disruptions.” The report continues, “Top all that off with Covid, and we get a very challenging year.”

Here are the statistics for some of the top problems for small business owners:

Labor Markets
• 50% of all small business owners reported job openings they are unable to fill. This is a record high reading for the second consecutive month.
• In August, 22% of job openings remain unfilled for small businesses.
• 66% of small business owners hired employees or were trying to hire employees in August, up 5 points from July.
• In a 48-year record high reading, a net 32% of owners reported that they were planning to create new jobs in the next three months.
• Also a 48-year record high reading, 29% of owners said there were no qualified candidates for their open positions. 31% of owners reported few qualified candidates.

Inventory
• More than 37% of small business owners reported that supply chain disruptions had a significant impact on their business. Another 50% reported these supply chain issues had a mild to moderate impact on their business.
• The net percent of owners reporting inventory increases improved 4 points to a net -2%, but more owners are reporting declines than increases in inventory.
• A net 11% of owners plan inventory investments in the next coming months, a 5-point increase since July.

Inflation
• A net 49% of small business owners raised average selling prices in August.
• A net 44% of owners are planning future price hikes.
• Wholesale (68%), manufacturing (60%), and retail (52%) industries saw the greatest number of owners raising prices.

Source:
NFIB Report