In the latest CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey, 41% of small business owners say the delta variant won’t change their business outlook for the rest of 2021 at all, while 37% say it will cause it to change “a little” and 19% say it will cause it to change “a lot.” The Small Business Confidence Index score holds steady at 45, unchanged from Q2.
Other key findings from the latest survey, fielded July 26 - August 3:
- 36% now say current business conditions are good, ticking up from 34% last quarter; but exactly matching the 36% from one year agoThe overall index score held steady at a score of 45/100
- Seven in 10 (70%) small business owners say they’re currently experiencing a rise in supply costs, and 55% are experiencing supply chain disruptions
- Fully half of small business owners (50%) say it’s gotten harder to find qualified people to hire over compared to a year ago
- 31% of small business owners say they have open roles they have not been able to fill for at least three months, up from 24% last quarter and 16% in Q1 2020 (pre-pandemic)
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
