In partnership with the UNH Survey Center, SBDC conducted the 2022 New Hampshire Small Business Survey in September. SBDC and NH economic development partners are better able to respond to business community’s needs because of the information gathered through the survey.
Staffing needs, employee well-being, supply chain issues, and business’ financial health are some of the topics surveyed.
A few highlights from the survey results:
- The vast majority of respondents believe that their employees are satisfied with their work schedule, their compensation, and their benefits.
- Most say that they struggled a lot or some to hire employees in the past six months.
- More than three-quarters of respondents say that they are very or somewhat concerned about their business being able to find new employees and pay their current employees competitive wages.
- Most respondents think that their employees find it difficult to access affordable housing and many believe their employees struggle to access childcare.
- Nearly three-quarters of respondents say their business has been affected a lot or some by supply chain issues in 2022.
- Just under half of respondents say that their business has a resiliency or continuity plan.
- Just over a third of respondents say their business is better off than a year ago while one-fifth say they are worse off.
- Future projections are slightly more optimistic. 40% of respondents expect their business will be better off in a year and only 10% expect to be worse off.
- The effect of inflation and energy costs on their businesses is very or somewhat concerning to the vast majority.
- More than 60% of respondents are worried about maintaining sales/revenue, supply chain disruptions, and maintaining customers.
Key Findings and a downloadable pdf of the survey results may be found on our website.
The New Hampshire Small Business Survey was made possible with funds from the CARES Act.
Prior to the New Hampshire Small Business Survey, NH SBDC and sixty economic development partners, conducted three phases of NH SBDC Business Resiliency Surveys. These surveys provided critical data and a longitudinal analysis of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Granite State's business community during 2020 and 2021. The findings guided response efforts so that SBDC and our partners were addressing current and expected needs and challenges. More than 4,500 businesses responded to the three surveys.