A new survey released by the Federal Reserve this week finds that small businesses are continuing to struggle with finances, supply chain and hiring.
Among the findings of the survey, conducted between September and November of 2021:
- 63% of firms still had revenues below pre-pandemic levels
- 43% of businesses had lower employment than before the pandemic.
- 60% of firms naming hiring issues and supply-chain issues as a top operational challenge faced over the past 12 months.
- 59% of firms surveyed said they were in “fair” or “poor” financial shape, nearly unchanged from 57% a year earlier.
- Breaking down businesses by race, 55% of white-owned businesses described their financial condition as “fair” or “poor.” But that rose to 81% of Asian-owned businesses, to 76% for Black-owned firms and to 74% for Hispanic-owned businesses.
The Fed polled nearly 11,000 small employers, with less than 500 workers, across the country.
