Small business optimism rises despite inflation: Goldman Sachs survey

Small business owners are more optimistic to start the year, even as they face persistent inflation and lending concerns, a new poll released Thursday found.

Seventy-five percent of small business owners are optimistic about their financial trajectory in 2024, up from 68% a year earlier, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices, a policy advocate for small business owners.

Meanwhile, 28% of respondents rated the economy as good or excellent, up 9% from a quarter ago.

More than half of small business owners surveyed said they expect to create jobs this year, and 62% reported they anticipate profits will increase.

The survey adds to a recent string of data showing consumers and businesses have started to grow more confident about the economy after a stretch where inflation was stubborn and borrowing became tougher.

“The fact that 75% of small business owners are optimistic is a remarkably high number, considering inflation continues to plague them, they continue to face access to capital challenges and workforce-related issues … all of those challenges have been very sticky for the last few years with no real progress,” Joe Wall, managing director of government affairs at Goldman Sachs, told CNBC.

The survey was conducted nationally in mid-January among more than 1,400 small business owners.

Jill Bommarito, CEO of Detroit-based Ethel’s Baking Company, said she has seen solid consumer spending, and noted that supply-chain issues and inflation are easing. The wholesale baking company, which launched in 2011 and now has 26 employees, specializes in dessert bars and sells in Whole Foods, Target and Costco.

“There’s growth opportunities. It doesn’t mean we’re not up against headwinds … there’s no question about that. However, the demand…