Main Street Monday – New Kabbage Data Points to Continued Economic Growth

December 16, 2019

By: Mary Miller
Contributing Editor, Main Street Monday

Main Street Monday – New Kabbage Data Points to Continued Economic Growth

According to the Kabbage Small Business Revenue Index, small businesses across the U.S. reported overall strong revenue growth in every state and industry in the first half of this calendar year.

The Kabbage Index Value (KIV) represents data used to track revenue growth of U.S. small businesses. The latest KIV numbers increased by nearly 22 points, from 136.8 to 158.4 points, reflecting a small business median revenue growth increase of 15.7% in the first six months of 2019.

This shows a 22% increase from the first six months of 2018 and a dramatic increase from the second half of 2018 when the small business median revenue rose by only 1.8 percent.

The Kabbage Small Business Revenue Index gathers its data from real time revenue and business performance data from more than 200,000 small businesses, 83% of which have fewer than 10 employees. Kabbage uses the KIV to accurately measure monthly median revenue growth of these small businesses. Based on an initial KIV of 100 in January of 2017, small business median revenue has grown 58% through June 30, 2019.

Here are the highlights from recent KIV statistics:

  • The construction industry led small business revenue growth. The KIV reportedly increased from 138.6 to 170.9 (or 23.3%) in the first six months of 2019. This is down slightly from the same reporting period of 2018 (24.1%).
  • Agriculture, mining, and utilities achieved the second-highest ranking with a 19.1% increase in growth rate.

“Strong optimism continues in the small business sector,” says Holly Wade, NFIB’s Director, Research and Policy Analysis, “Last year was the most optimistic on record as measured by NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends survey. Since then, we are still at strong levels in 2019 with small business owners reporting above-average optimism. Despite a slight slowdown in 2019, likely due to the government shutdown earlier this year and escalating tariffs, overall, the small business economy is roaring ahead with no sign of a near term recession.”

The Kabbage Small Business Revenue Index shows healthy revenue growth numbers in the first half of this year, pointing to continued economic growth in every state and across every small business sector through the end of 2019.