New Poll: Small Business Sentiment Falls to 30-Month Low, Disagree with Biden on Inflation

Washington, D.C. (December 7, 2023)—Today, the Job Creators Network Foundation (JCNF) released its November edition of the Small Business IQ Poll of 400 small business employers. The Small Business Intelligence Quotient (SBIQ), an index tracking overall sentiment about the economy, fell to 51.9. That’s the lowest level recorded since the survey began in May of 2021.

The economic agenda under the current administration is broadly characterized as ‘Bidenomics’—an approach that two-thirds of small businesses view unfavorably. The biggest consequence has been inflation, which remains a top concern with 65 percent of respondents saying that price increases their businesses are experiencing are higher than officially reported inflation figures. Only seven percent say the rate is lower.

Meanwhile, 83 percent of small businesses disagree with the Biden administration’s comments that the price of doing business has gone down. And looking ahead to the 2024 general election, a majority believe Donald Trump will do more to help small businesses than Joe Biden (57 percent vs. 28 percent).

View more polling details here.

Elaine Parker, President of the Job Creators Network Foundation, released the following statement:

“‘Bidenomics’ is clearly unpopular among small businesses, which isn’t surprising. The policy agenda has left entrepreneurs navigating two years of high inflation, a growing regulatory state, and the threat of higher taxes. In fact, the economy is so flimsy that the White House has ramped up its blame game, recently pinning financial woes on greedy businesses that are supposedly price gouging consumers. Main Street isn’t buying the economic misdirection, and neither should the broader American public.”