The latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index for Q3 dropped back down to a low last seen exactly a year ago, an index score of 42 out of 100.
Highlights from the latest survey of more than 2,000 small business owners, fielded August 7-14, are the following:
- 47% of small business owners say labor unions today have “too much power and influence,” compared with just 28% of people in the general public who say the same
- Most (59%) small business owners would oppose an increase in unionization at their company, including 42% who say they would strongly oppose such a change. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation is the only industry whose small business owners support an increase in unionization.
- Most of this split is driven by partisanship, with 68% of small business owners who are Democrats, 47% who are independents, and 20% who are Republicans saying they support an increase in unionization at their company
- Opinion is more mixed regarding whether labor unions are good or bad for working people in general, with 38% of small business owners saying they are good, 31% bad, and 29% saying neither good nor bad.
- Responses among the general population tip much more favorably towards labor union support, with 48% saying unions are mostly good for working people, 15% saying they are mostly bad, and 33% undecided.
- Some 11% of small business owners are members of labor unions themselves, exactly matching the rate among the general population
Small Business Confidence dropped back down to a score of 42 out of 100, matching the all-time low from exactly one year ago (42 in Q3’22). The biggest drivers of this decrease in confidence were:
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- An increasing share of small business owners who expect a negative effect on their business due to immigration policy (up from 31% in Q2 to 36% now)
- An increasing share of small business owners who expect a negative effect on their business due to tax policy (up from 57% in Q2 to 60% now)
- A slight decrease in the share of small business owners who expect their headcount to increase in the next year (down from 28% in Q2 to 25% now)
- A dip in the share of small business owners who say current business conditions are good (down from 40% in Q2 to 38% now).
