Nearly Half Of Small Businesses Raised Prices Due To Inflation, Survey Finds

A Goldman Sachs survey released Tuesday showed that most small businesses are concerned about inflation, and many have raised their prices due to increasing costs.

The survey found that 48% of small businesses raised the prices of their goods and services due to inflation, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs. Fully 82% of small business owners are concerned about inflation, and 83% have increased their operating costs in the past few months, the survey found.

The small business owners surveyed reported having trouble finding qualified candidates to fit roles in their company. Sixty-two percent of people surveyed cited a limited labor supply, 58% say the generous unemployment benefits, and 46% say high labor costs as the main reasons why they can’t find candidates for their company.

Small business owners polled showed the vast majority of them supported increasing their opportunities for federal, state, and local procurement processes. A sizable 88% supported Congress making it easier to receive federal contracts. Meanwhile, 93% wanted the Biden administration’s proposed infrastructure package to include state and local government contracts for small businesses.

A majority of small business owners support the Democrat’s American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan, but a smaller minority believe it will help their business. While the Americans Jobs Plan is supported by 61%, only 43% of business owners think it will help them. 60% supported the American Families Plan, while 39% believe it will help their business.

The survey of 857 Goldman 10,000 Small Businesses program participants was conducted by Babson College and David Binder Research from June 1-2. The survey included small business owners from 46 U.S. states and two U.S. territories, 53% of whom were women. Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is an investment to helps entrepreneurs get better access to education, capital, and business support services to create jobs and economic opportunities.

The survey found only 13% of respondents say the proposed tax policy changes will positively impact their business. President Biden wants to increase the cooperate tax rate from 21% to 28%.

Kevin Kuhlman, vice president of federal government relations at the National Federation of Independent Business, said the issue a lot of the smallest corporations have with the tax hike is that there’s no consideration of smaller companies that have lower income.  “The target here is the largest corporations, many listed as paying no corporate tax, but the problem with that is that two-thirds or even more than that of corporations are small businesses,” Kuhlman told CNBC.

“Small businesses are the engine of the economy and need continued support from our policymakers to make a full recovery,” said Jill Bommarito, founder & CEO of Ethel’s Baking Company and member of the 10,000 Small Businesses Voices National Leadership Council.

“Today’s survey shows that Washington must act now to address hurdles on the road to recovery, including rising operating costs, access to capital, and labor shortages.”