Updated
August 21, 2026
Published
February 27, 2023
This Week's Highlights
- Main Street Headwinds: High prices are causing anxiety among small consumer facing and business to business firms as experts predict cautious spending.
- 2026 Outlook: Expectations for profitability among small employers continue to tick upward, prompting increased reinvestment and hiring.
- Summary: Expectations for profitability continue to tick upward creating an environment for reinvestment and hiring on Main Street.
Optimism is inching upward among small businesses. Small employers are relying more on existing employees to plow forward through uncertainty towards higher profitability.
Tariff Refund FAQ Guide: Visit this guide for information to help small businesses identify whether they paid IEEPA‑based tariffs and prepare for the emerging refund process.
Navigating the New Tax Law: Don't miss our practical guide to maximizing savings for small businesses under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”
ICYMI: As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Suzanne P. Clark unveiled a bold vision for how the business community can help shape the nation’s next chapter. Watch here.
Is your small business a member of the U.S. Chamber? As the nation's leading small business advocacy organization, we can help you with exclusive intelligence and access, a Policy Help Desk, regular updates on economic and business trends, and more.
New Small Business Data
Clutch Small Business Artificial Intelligence (AI) Maturity Report (August 19, 2026)
Insight Summary: Larger small businesses are the most advanced AI adopters and more small businesses are measuring value derived from AI use.
- 62% of small businesses have formal guidelines for how employees can use AI.
- 87% of small businesses have some AI integrations that allow business tools and software to share data with each other.
- 66% of small business owners are concerned about the risks of using AI in their business.
- 76% of small businesses provide AI training for employees and 78% of employees at small businesses are open to using AI at work.
- 88% of employees at small businesses say they experiment with new AI tools and 84% say there is a process in place for introducing new AI tools at work.
- 83% of small business owners report that AI has delivered positive results for their business and 81% believe that AI has contributed to revenue growth.
- The greatest value derived from AI is saving time on repetitive tasks followed by improving written content or communications.
- Larger small businesses (100-200 employees) are the most advanced AI adopters, although over 50% of the smallest businesses are advanced AI adopters.
- 50% of small businesses spend between $50 and 500 per month on AI tools and 15% rely exclusively on free subscriptions.
Bank of America Institute Small Business Checkpoint (August 18, 2026)
Insight Summary: Profitability growth for small businesses continues to trend positive, resulting in more plans to increase staff.
- 20% of small business owners plan on creating new jobs in the next 3 months (9 points higher than June and a stark improvement from a year ago when job creation was dropping into negative territory).
- Small transportation and manufacturing firms experienced profitability gains in July while apparel and restaurants posted declines.
- Small firm business travel picked up in July, both in spending (because travel is more expensive) and in transactions (number of travel bookings increased 4.5% compared to July 2025).
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) July Optimism Index (August 11, 2026)
Insight Summary: Main Street employers experience uptick in optimism, resulting in more plans for capital investments.
- 27% of small business owners cite “labor quality or availability” as their single most important problem (8 points higher than June) and 14% cite inflation as their biggest problem (7 points lower than June and the first drop this year).
- 15% of small business owners expect better business conditions in the next 3-months (2 points higher than June).
- 12% of small business owners believe it is a good time to expand their business (4 points higher than June).
- -4% of small businesses reported higher sales in the past 3-months (no change from June) and 7 expect higher sales in the next 3-months (2 points lower than June).
- 31% of small businesses raised their prices in July (7 points lower than June). 28% are planning on raising prices in the next 3-months (4 points lower than June).
- 54% of small businesses reported capital outlays in the last 6 months (3 points higher than June) and 25% are planning capital purchases in the next 6-months (5 points higher than June).
- -4% of small business owners expect better credit conditions in the next 3-months (1 point better than June).
- Small businesses paid an average rate for short maturity loans of 7.9% in June (0.5 points higher than June) and 27% of small business owners report borrowing on a regular basis (5 points higher than June). The historical average is 34%.
Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights: Q2 Survey (August 7, 2026)
Insight Summary: Small business growth remains steady, especially when compared year over year.
- 50% of U.S. small businesses describe themselves in growth mode (no change from Q1 and 6 points higher than a year ago) and 79% want to grow (1 point less than Q1 and 1 point more than a year ago).
- 86% of U.S. small businesses describe themselves as profitable (no change from Q1 and 2 points higher than a year ago).
- 50% of U.S. small businesses cite rising costs as their top challenge (3 points lower than Q1 and 4 points higher than a year ago) and 56% believe costs will continue to increase (3 points lower than Q1 and 2 points lower than a year ago).
- 41% of U.S. small businesses use AI on a daily basis (1 point higher than Q1 and 8 points higher than a year ago).
- 48% of U.S. small businesses believe AI is boosting revenue versus 45% who believe AI does not impact revenue.
- 24% of U.S. small businesses believe AI has shortened the length of workdays versus 12% who believe AI has made the workday longer.
- 44% of U.S. small businesses plan on adding workers in the next 3-months (3 points less than Q1 and 4 points higher than a year ago).
- 34% of U.S. small businesses believe it is relatively easy to hire skilled workers (3 points higher than Q1 and 5 points higher than a year ago).
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31% of U.S. small businesses believe it is hard to hire skilled workers (3 points better than Q1 and 5 points better than a year ago).
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index for Q2 (July 15, 2026)
Insight Summary: Small business owners voice optimism for future revenues and hiring. High costs continue to be a wet blanket on reinvestment.
- 69% of small businesses are confident in the health of their own business (no change from the last 2 quarters) and 70% are comfortable with their current cash flow (2 points lower than last quarter).
- 33% of small business owners are positive about the health of their local economy (3 points lower than last quarter) and 39% are negative (6 points worse than last quarter).
- 30% of small business owners are positive about the nation’s economic health (2 points higher than last quarter) and 52% are negative (2 points worse than last quarter).
- 57% of small business owners rank inflation as their top concern (4 points higher than last quarter and the 18th consecutive quarter where inflation tops the list).
- 38% of small business owners expect to increase investment in their business in the upcoming year (1 point higher than last quarter).
- 66% of small business owners expect to increase revenue in the next year (5 points higher than last quarter).
- 19% of small business owners reported adding staff over this past year (3 points higher than last quarter) and 35% expect to increase staff over the next 12-months (5 points higher than last quarter).
- 20% of small business owners cited affordability of employee benefits or healthcare as their top concern (highest level in Index’s history (9 years).
Small Business Fast Facts
Honoring America's Top Small Businesses
Explore More Small Business Insights
The U.S. Chamber's SVP of Small Business Policy Tom Sullivan appears regularly on ASBN - America's Small Business Network and hosts a weekly podcast to deliver fresh insights on small business to viewers and listeners nationwide.
Watch Tom Sullivan talk all things small business with Jim Fitzpatrick on ASBN (America's Small Business Network), including the latest news and policy updates for Main Street business owners. New episodes are added every month so that you can watch them anytime.
Small Business Outlook Podcast
Listen to the Small Business Podc(AI)st for more insights from the U.S. Chamber's Tom Sullivan and NFIB's Holly Wade. Each week, they combine their own expertise with the latest AI tools for podcasting and music editing to deliver an AI-cast that keeps you entertained and up-to-speed on everything small business.
From Main Street
About the author
Thomas M. Sullivan
Thomas M. Sullivan is senior vice president of small business policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Working with chambers of commerce and the U.S. Chamber’s nationwide network, Sullivan harnesses the views of small businesses and translates that grassroots power into federal policies that bolster free enterprise and reward entrepreneurship. He runs the U.S.
