Since Biden assumed office, small business owner economic confidence reaches its peak.

• The Small Business Confidence Index has reached its highest level since Joe Biden took office, resulting in increasing economic optimism among business owners.
• The percentage of small business owners who view the current economy as "excellent" or "good" has increased by five percentage points to twenty-eight percent, compared to the previous quarter.
• Still, inflation concerns linger and President Biden's approval ratings remain low.

Despite persistent inflation, small business owners are expressing greater optimism about the economy. The CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Confidence Index has reached its highest level since President Biden took office, according to the latest quarterly data released on Thursday morning.

The percentage of small business owners who consider the current economy to be "excellent" or "good" has increased by five percentage points from the previous quarter and 10 percentage points from the same time last year, according to the CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey for Q1 2024. This marks the most optimistic response to this question since CNBC and SurveyMonkey began asking it in Q2 of 2022.

Since Joe Biden took office in the first quarter of 2021, the Small Business Confidence Index reading of 47 out of 100 was the highest.

Despite ongoing challenges, recent data indicates that both consumers and small business owners are increasingly confident in the economy.

According to Sam Gutierrez, senior research scientist at SurveyMonkey, there is a possibility of a turnaround in small business optimism, as indicated by an increase in survey responses about economic strength and the direction in the fight against inflation, after two years of stagnation in this survey data.

From January 22 to February 1, 2024, a national sample of 3,119 self-identified small business owners ages 18 and up participated in an online Q1 survey conducted using SurveyMonkey's methodology.

Despite recent progress in reducing prices from their peak, inflation remains a significant concern for business owners, with nearly a third citing it as the biggest risk, which is more than double the number who identify consumer demand, interest rates, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions as key issues.

"Gutierrez stated that while inflation remains a concern, there is a growing sense of cautious optimism regarding inflation and overall costs."

Since the start of 2022, the highest percentage of small business owners (35%) have expressed confidence in the Fed's ability to control inflation, while the percentage of those who believe inflation has peaked (29%) is also at its highest level.

Owners surveyed say they will evaluate candidates for the 2024 election based on inflation (60%), interest rates (60%), economic growth (60%), and tax policy (51%).

John Morman's small business, Celtic Tides, has been affected by inflation over the past year. The Lexington, Virginia-based business, which imports and sells items from Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, has been in operation for 25 years.

The cost of imported items has increased due to rising international freight and increased production costs in the countries we source our products from. The value of the dollar has also dropped, leading to higher costs. Despite this, the company has only passed on a portion of the increase to consumers, with costs increasing by as much as 15%.

"We postpone price hikes as much as possible, but eventually, some of those expenses must be transferred to customers," he stated.

Despite feeling optimistic about the overall year, Morman's main worry is low consumer spending.

""This year has been quite unusual, with times when we would typically be busy but haven't been, and times when we would expect to be quiet but have been busy. As a result, the year so far is falling behind last year. As a community, we are concerned about the rising costs," Morman stated."