Small businesses report hiring troubles as labor shortage grows
Q2 2021 hedge fund letters, conferences and more
Alignable’s July State Of Small Business Report has just been released today, based on responses from 5,911 small business owners polled from 7/2/21 to 7/19/21, as well as input from 635,000 businesses over the past 16 months.
Key findings show increased optimism, revenues and customer counts, and a decrease in the negative effects of COVID. While that’s all welcome news, more businesses are struggling with escalating inflation and a growing labor shortage. Here are some highlights:
The Good News: Majority Of Small Businesses Are Fully Open
- 76% of small businesses are fully open: a new 2021 record, up from 68% last month
- Revenue numbers are up by 15 percentage points in July. Last month, 57% said they only had 50% or less of the monthly revenue they earned prior to COVID. But in July, that number dropped to 42%
- In a related poll, 56% of small business owners said they are more optimistic about their future vs. 21% who were more pessimistic. (23% reported no change in outlook)
- Only 22% report being significantly impacted by COVID in July vs. 30% last month.
The Not-So-Good News: Majority Of Restaurant Owners Report Hiring Troubles
- Supply Costs Hit A New High: 80% say they’re experiencing higher supply costs than they had prior to COVID. And 27% say the costs have increased more than 25%. Both statistics represent new records for our inflation polls this year.
- 67% of small businesses are still trying to recover. (But 33% have rebounded fully).
- Overall, 50% of all small business owners say it’s more difficult to hire now than it was prior to COVID.
- These industries are hurting the most: 74% of restaurant owners are struggling to hire employees, as well as 66% of small business owners in transportation, 63% in the automotive industry, 62% in manufacturing, 59% in the beauty sector, 56% in construction, and 47% of retailers.
Read the full report here.
