For the first time since the start of our CNBC|SurveyMonkey Small Business Index a year ago, more than half (53 percent) of small business owners now say that current conditions for their businesses are good. That percentage has been steadily climbing every quarter, starting at 38 percent in Q2 of 2017. Just six percent of small business owners say that current conditions are bad (down from 11 percent a year ago) and 41 percent say conditions are middling (down from 51 percent).
Despite this increase in optimism, our small business confidence index value—a score calculated from responses to 8 survey questions, including the above question on current conditions—showed no substantial change, dipping from 62 in Q1 to 61 in Q2 of 2018, a difference within the margin of error for quarter-to-quarter change.
Read more about our polling methodology here.
Click through all the results in the interactive toplines below:
Which one of the following issues matters MOST to you right now?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president?In addition to yourself, how many employees work at your small business?Is your business a:Overall, would you describe current conditions for your business as good, middling or bad? In the next 12 months, do you expect your business’s revenue to increase, stay the same, or decrease?
In the next 12 months, do you expect your business’s staff of full-time employees to increase, stay the same, or decrease? In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in government regulations to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in trade policy to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business? In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in technological innovation to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business? In the next 12 months, do you expect changes in immigration policy to have a negative effect, no effect, or a positive effect on your business?
Do you have any of the following for your business? Which of the following is true of your business’s relationship to Amazon? Has your company ever advertised on Facebook? How does your ad spending on Facebook compare with other online advertising you might buy? Overall, thinking about your spending on Facebook ads over the coming months, do you plan to… If the government decides to regulate how Facebook and other online platforms use and distribute users’ personal data, do you think it would make the ads… In general, do you think that Amazon is good for small businesses, bad for small businesses, or has no effect on small businesses? Does your household subscribe to Amazon Prime?
*businesses
