Small business confidence has plummeted to a record low after Joe Biden was elected the next President of the United States.
A fourth-quarter CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey found a confidence index reading of just 48, one point lower than during the second quarter of this year after widespread COVID shutdowns had crippled the U.S. economy, shuttered businesses across the nation and forced millions of workers onto unemployment rolls while families piled into food bank lines.
While small business confidence skyrocketed under a Trump administration, the recent election of Biden has small businesses even more nervous than the coronavirus pandemic. CNBC reports that this quarter’s survey, which includes more than 2,200 small business owners across the country, marks the lowest small business confidence score at any point since they first began conducting the quarterly survey in 2017.
“Since CNBC began conducting the survey in 2017, the confidence index reached as high as 62, and had never dipped below the mark of 50 until 2020,” CNBC adds.
Just over half said they expect higher taxes to hit their business during the first year of a Biden presidency, while 49 percent said they predict government regulation will have a negative impact.
The report adds that roughly 60 percent of all small business owners self-identify as Republican, meaning that business owners’ political leanings may play into the survey results.
(Cover Photo: Gage Skidmore)