Small business owners are doing OK – but will that help Trump overcome his low approval ratings?

Ahead of the November midterms, President Donald Trump faces weak overall economic sentiment, yet the roughly 34 million small businesses that account for about half of U.S. jobs and output appear fairly upbeat, according to Gene Marks's roundup of recent surveys. Their mood matters politically because they form a significant voting bloc, according to The Guardian.

The data are mixed. The National Federation of Independent Businesses found its optimism index slipping to just under its long-term average, with labor quality worrying 26% of owners and inflation 20%. A Justworks/US Chamber survey of 750 firms showed 72% comfortable with cash flow, though only 27% thought the national economy healthy. On employment, ADP counted 90,000 new private-sector positions in September, 18,000 of them at establishments with one to 19 workers. Intuit, however, saw tiny firms of one to nine employees lose 7,000 jobs, even as its inflation-adjusted revenue measure rose 1.68%.

Broader indicators were solid: manufacturing grew for a ninth straight month, services have expanded for 27 months, and revised second-quarter growth reached 2.2%. Marks, who runs a Philadelphia firm, says his clients are mostly doing well but still wrestle with higher costs and scarce workers.

Summarized by PolitiKool from The Guardian’s reporting. Read the full story at The Guardian →