Survey: Ohio small business owners worry over inflation, labor shortfalls, supply chain

Ohio’s small business owners counted economic inflation, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions as the issue most concerning to their business, according to a recent survey.

Some combination of these currents have caused roughly eight in 10 Ohio business owners to raise prices, according to a survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Businesses. Roughly 4 in 10 respondents have raised prices by at least 10%.

Ohio’s employment rate fell to 4% last month and the state’s workforce size has returned to pre-pandemic levels, according to federal data. However, 72% of the surveyed businesses still report staffing issues, with over half saying it’s a “very real problem.”

About 90% of respondents indicated the cost of gas is impacting their business, as felt in labor costs, material costs and inventory costs. Average gas prices in Ohio hit a record high of $4.87 per gallon, according to AAA.

The survey data comes from 300 business owners over the past several weeks. Roughly 90% of them oversee operations of 50 or fewer employees, according to an NFIB spokesman.

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This story was republished from the Ohio Capital Journal under a Creative Commons license.