Four in Five Small to Mid-Sized Businesses Expect Revenue to Grow or Hold Steady into Q2
Despite positive outlook, the CBIZ Main Street Index found recession is the top concern for 61% of businesses
The CBIZ Business Confidence Study, a weighted average of responses to the index’s business confidence-focused questions, rose slightly to just under 68 points. Ongoing action by the
“Our data reveals the resilience and adaptability that small businesses have shown in this uncertain economic environment,” said
Based on a survey conducted
The data was evaluated from an overall perspective, as well as based on company size, region and industry. An interactive infographic with the results is available on the CBIZ website. Key findings include:
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Despite economic uncertainty, four in five businesses expect revenue to remain steady or grow — Eighty-one percent of businesses say they expect revenue to at least hold steady quarter over quarter. This includes 19% that project anywhere from a 6% to 10% rise in revenue over the next few months.
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72% of businesses expect a downturn in the economy; recession is top concern — While the economy remains robust by a number of measures, like jobs added to the workforce and the unemployment rate, a number of other factors point to a possible slowdown. Nearly three out of four small to mid-sized businesses expect an economic downturn in the near future, while 61% list their top concern as a recession.
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Half of SMBs remain impacted by employee turnover, resignation — Half of small to mid-sized companies report they’re at least slightly impacted by the rate of resignations and steady employee turnover within their business. While still significant, this figure dropped from 62% in Q4 of last year. Additionally, the second-ranked concern among SMBs is hiring or maintaining an adequate number of skilled workers, with more than 55% indicating the issue persists.
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While costs for goods, resources and labor are still rising, fewer businesses report them as an issue compared with last quarter — Fewer SMBs are reporting rising costs incurred in their day-to-day work, possibly due to the slowing rates of year-over-year and month-over-month inflation. Seventy-eight percent share that they incurred a significant or modest cost increase for goods and resources this quarter, compared to 85% in the last quarter of 2022. Almost 76% say labor costs are at least modestly rising, compared to just under 82% in Q4 of last year.
- Energy prices continue to cause financial pain for SMBs — While certain energy costs like heating oil may be less of a financial burden for some businesses compared to the previous quarter, six out of 10 say heating, cooling, electricity and gasoline costs have caused them an increase in overhead this quarter.
*Note: Not all those surveyed in the CBIZ Main Street Index are clients of CBIZ.
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