October Business Recovery and Hiring Reports Released

Small businesses are continuing to have a tough time finding employees while facing a sluggish economic recovery, according to new data from Alignable. Two new reports by the company document that businesses are facing rising inflation along with cost of supplies and inventory increases, while their hiring woes continue.

Here are some highlights from Alignable's October Road To Recovery Report:

-Only 30% of small businesses report that they're fully recovered. (Up 2% from last month, but still down 5% from its July peak).

-The estimated date for a full recovery for most small businesses has been pushed out yet another quarter, landing sometime in 2023. (In July, the date was mid-2022, 9 months earlier).

-Inflation is now seen as the biggest hurdle to a full recovery: 48% say it's their chief concern now. (That's up 10% from Sept., when Covid Delta-related government re-closures ranked as the top worry).

-85% of small businesses say they're suffering from the increased cost of supplies and inventory, but only 50% feel able to pass those costs onto consumers.

To see the full report, go here.

Here are highlights from the company’s October Hiring Report:

-For the second month in a row, 2 out of 3 (65%) of small business owners say they're having trouble hiring staffers.

-But when they actually find people to hire, 64% of small business employers must pay higher salaries than they did prior to Covid. That's a 9% increase over last month, when only 55% reported paying higher wages to attract and retain employees.

-Restaurants top the list of those struggling with the labor shortage and wage hikes.

To see the report go here.

The reports are based on a survey concluded on Sunday, 10/24/21 among 3,181 small business owners, as well as data from 650,000 other SMB owners collected since March 2020.