72% of small businesses to increase prices due to inflation, survey finds
By Bethany Blankley | The Center Square contributor May 1, 2022
(The Center Square) – As inflation surpasses 40-year highs, 72% of small businesses surveyed are increasing prices to keep their doors open, according to the latest Small Business Optimism Index.
It’s the greatest percentage ever recorded in the survey’s history, which the National Federation of Independent Business’s (NFIB) has conducted every year since 1973.
Slightly more than one-third surveyed, 35%, said they’ve reported lower profits due to increased costs of materials; 40% said supply chain disruptions have significantly impacted their business.
“Thirty-one percent of owners reported that inflation was the single most important problem in their business, up five points from February and the highest reading since the first quarter of 1981,” the report states. “Inflation has now replaced ‘labor quality’ as the number one problem.”
NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said of the findings, “With inflation, an ongoing staffing shortage, and supply chain disruptions, small business owners remain pessimistic about their future business conditions.”
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https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/72-of-small-businesses-to-increase-prices-due-to-inflation-survey-finds/article_9e43fbfc-c954-11ec-8592-a3e42dce0492.html
