Study: Two-thirds of small-business owners fear inflation will hurt their recovery

A nationwide survey conducted by Alignable Research Center finds 67% of small-business owners are afraid that rising inflation rates will hamper their efforts to recover from the economic trauma of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition, 38% said they were “highly concerned” about inflation.

The survey, which polled 7,735 small-business owners between April 24 and May 5, found 52% of respondents hesitant to pass along the increased costs created by higher inflation to their customers. 48% said they are charging higher prices to cover their growing expenses, although 26% of those small business owners have only hiked prices from 1% to 10%.

Furthermore, 80% of respondents said the costs of their supplies were higher than during the pre-pandemic era, while 22% reported those costs have increased by 25% or more and 59% stated they were experiencing difficulty in acquiring inventory and supplies.

The situation is particularly acute in such sectors as manufacturing, construction, energy and utilities, restaurants and retail.

Complicating matters was the question of workers. Half of the respondents said they were having trouble finding new employees to fill vacancies, and 51% said that employees require higher salaries or hourly rates than they did before the pandemic.