Small Business Confidence Reaches Highest Point Since Start of Pandemic

Jan. 3, 2022—The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Confidence Index reached a pandemic-era high during the last quarter, Small Biz Trends reported. 

The small business index score for the last quarter was 63.0, the highest index score since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. To compare, the previous quarter’s score was 56.6, with the lowest pandemic-era score plummeting as low as 39.5. That low point was the second quarter of 2020 when things were looking especially bleak for small businesses.

The report gathered information on the reasons behind the growing optimism, saying: “Hiring and investment plans, in particular, reveal small businesses’ growing optimism. About two in five (38 percent) small business owners say they plan to increase staffing levels, while 42 percent say they plan to invest in their business in the coming year—increases of 10 and 13 percentage points, respectively, from 2021 Q3.