The National Federation of Independent Business (5/3) announced, “The NFIB Research Center released its latest COVID-19 survey on the impact the pandemic has had on small businesses. This survey is NFIB’s 17th survey in the series. Included in this edition is an update on small business SBA programs, paid sick or family leave, supply chain disruptions, sales levels, and more.” NFIB Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade said, “Many small businesses have taken advantage of the SBA programs devoted to helping small employers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that many of those programs are wrapping up, small businesses are turning their attention back to their normal daily operations. It is crucial that Congress and the Administration don’t enact policies that will hurt the small business recovery.” Key findings include, “the vast majority (82%) have submitted a PPP loan forgiveness application for their 2020 PPP loan,” “sales levels are 50% or less than they were pre-crisis levels for 14% of small businesses with another 22% at sales levels of 51% – 75% pre-crisis.”

The Wall Street Journal(4/25, Douglas, Subscription Publication) reported in an analysis that the US is poised to lead an economic rebound in the West. The Journal said North American and European economies are about to take off as newly vaccinated consumers, armed with savings built during the pandemic, return to stores, restaurants and hotels. Another article in the Wall Street Journal (4/23, Guilford, Subscription Publication) said the US as well as global economies are exhibiting indications of stronger growth. IHS Markit indicated that its US services index increased to 63.1, which was the most elevated reading since the onset of data collection in 2009.

News outlets are taking notice of a worrying statistic: NFIB’s March survey of small business owners showed a record-high 42% of owners reported that they have open positions they couldn’t fill. A variety of news media across the nation are reporting on this developing crisis. Read what they’re saying and how small business owners are managing with a shortage of qualified workers

Roll Call (4/19, Zeller) reported business groups oppose the Administration’s “bid to establish a global minimum tax on corporations” as well as the President’s infrastructure plan due to its inclusion of a corporate tax rate increase. NFIB President Brad Close was quoted saying small businesses “have been severely harmed by the pandemic and government shutdowns,” and NFIB would “remain steadfast in opposing any tax hikes.”

The Wall Street Journal (4/16, Simon, Subscription Publication) reported recent Federal Reserve estimates indicate the economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic led to fewer small employer closures than were predicted. A study put out last Thursday by Fed economists said the pandemic caused the permanent shutdown of about 200,000 American establishments in excess of historical levels over the course of the pandemic’s initial year.

The Wall Street Journal (5/2, Gryta, Francis, Subscription Publication) reported that while consumer demand is on the rise, individual businesses and some industries said supply chain problems could impede their growth. The Commerce Department announced last week that GDP grew at 6.4% in the first quarter, but businesses are reporting supply shortages and difficulties in finding workers.

Politico (4/29, Rainey) reported on the US labor shortage, saying, “As Congress prepares to debate the next aid package, small businesses, in particular, say they are growing worried about their ability to staff up as they reopen fully.” NFIB research center executive director Holly Wade was quoted saying, “It is unprecedented. It’s difficult across the board. ... Those hardest hit businesses in industries that were more restricted in business operations are starting to increase their workforce, and they’re having a hard time filling positions to ramp up operations.”

Axios (4/29, Salmon) said the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced Thursday that the US “economic growth rate accelerated to 6.4% in the first quarter of 2021...picking up from 4.3% in the final quarter of 2020.” Axios adds, “In nominal dollars, the growth rate was a blistering 10.7%, but the Bureau of Economic Analysis subtracted 4.3 points to account for the effects of inflation.” Axios also pointed out that “personal income soared by 59% to $2.4 trillion, thanks to the most recent round of stimulus.”

Bloomberg (4/29, Pickert) reported that “the inflation-adjusted value of domestically produced goods and services climbed to an annualized $19.1 trillion, indicating GDP will soon eclipse the pre-pandemic peak of nearly $19.3 trillion.” The Washington Post (4/29, A1, Van Dam, Siegel) said “it appears likely that all coronavirus-era economic losses will be recovered by the middle of this year, according to data released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.”

In what the AP (4/28, Rugaber) cast as a sign the Federal Reserve “wants to see more evidence of a strengthening economic recovery before it would consider easing its support,” the central bank is “keeping its ultra-low interest rate policies in place.” A statement from the Fed “said the economy and job market have ‘strengthened,’” but CNBC (4/28, Cox) reported on its website that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the recovery is “uneven and far from complete.”

Reuters (4/28, Schneider, Marte, Saphir), which said the Fed “took a rosier view of the U.S. economic recovery and the nation’s war against the coronavirus, but said it was too early to consider rolling back its emergency support,” quoted Powell as saying, “It is not time yet” to begin discussing policy changes. Powell said, “We are 8.5 million jobs below February 2020. ... We are a long way from our goals ... It is going to take some time.”

NerdWallet (4/27) reported on how small businesses can build an effective recurring payments system. Different payment service providers “handle recurring payments in different ways – and at different rates.” To use PayPal, “you’ll first need to sign up for either a PayPal Virtual Terminal or a Payments Pro account, both of which cost $30 per month.” Via such an account, small business owners will “be able to embed a ‘Subscribe’ button onto any webpage or marketing material.” When customers “click the ‘Subscribe’ button, they will be directed to a PayPal page where they can enter their payment information. PayPal will create a customer profile for all who subscribe and process payments based on a schedule you create.”

The Wall Street Journal (4/21, Simon, Sebastian, Subscription Publication) reported supply chain disruptions are causing problems for small companies, which are unable to absorb or push back against price increases from suppliers and are less able to pass additional costs on to consumers. According to a survey of roughly 800 companies by business advisory firm Vistage Worldwide Inc., 42% of small businesses reported temporary shortages or other supply chain issues in March.

Moneycontrol (IND) (4/22) reported, “BOB Financial and Mastercard have jointly launched small business-focussed QR code embedded credit card that will not only enable the cardholders to make payments but receive them as well.” Under the program “small businesses can use QR to make payments, while also enjoying the ability to receive payments.”

PYMNTS (4/23) reported on debit rewards programs, noting that the draw could “be compounded for merchants as more consumers begin to use mobile or digital wallets to make payments more frequently. Digital wallets are becoming a more popular way to pay for eCommerce as well as in-store purchases, with recent PYMNTS data finding that 42 percent of bridge millennials — those between 33 and 43 years old — use these tools to pay online.”

Insider (4/14, Cain) reported that for small businesses, “selling products on Amazon offers a tantalizing opportunity. Some third-party sellers have become such cash cows that investment firms like Thrasio have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to buy up lucrative brands.” However, “sellers said there was a dark side to that e-commerce gold rush: a relentless onslaught of attacks from other sellers, all jockeying for position on Amazon’s digital storefront.”

ZDNet (4/6, Condon) reported last week Dell Technologies “announced it’s updating its cloud data protection portfolio with a new backup service, as well as expanded services for Google Cloud and AWS customers.” The Dell EMC PowerProtect Backup Service “offers cloud-based data protection powered by Druva,” and is “designed to cover SaaS applications without increasing IT complexity.” The “PowerProtect Backup Service can also protect data on endpoint devices, such as desktops and laptops,” in addition to providing “eDiscovery, data security and compliance capabilities.” Dell “noted that many popular SaaS applications – like Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Salesforce – don’t provide native data protection services.”

CRN (4/13, Goodison) reported, “Broadcom is moving its cloud-based security and enterprise operations software to Google Cloud and will leverage Google’s data cloud capabilities for its business-wide data and analytics strategy.” Broadcom “is migrating its software-as-a-service offerings from its own on-premises servers and Amazon Web Services (AWS).” Rob Greer, VP and GM of Broadcom’s Network and Information Security Software Division, commented, “Thanks to moving to Google, we don’t need to worry about that level of technology, management and integration anymore. The majority of the value here is on customer-facing, 24-by-seven-by-365, global workloads that need to be available and performant for our customers, and most of those will be moved over this calendar year.”

Bloomberg (4/29, Lubbers) reported that according to the Labor Department, applications for state unemployment insurance “fell last week to a fresh pandemic low.” Bloomberg said, “initial claims in regular state programs decreased by 13,000 to 553,000 in the week ended April 24.” Bloomberg added, “The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 540,000 claims. The prior week’s total was revised up to 566,000.”

The Washington Post (4/29, Telford) said states “reported 121,749 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, for gig and self-employed workers, for the week ending April 24. There were nearly 7 million continued PUA claims, for benefits that are set to expire in September.” The New York Times (4/29, Schwartz) said that “the long-term unemployed – a group that historically has had a more difficult time rejoining the work force – now make up” more than 40% of all unemployed. The Times adds, “Of the 22 million jobs that disappeared early in the pandemic, more than eight million remain lost.”

The Wall Street Journal (4/23, Melchior, Subscription Publication) reported that entrepreneurs are having difficulty hiring workers hard to find, either out of pandemic-related health concerns, difficulty balancing full-time work with childcare due to shuttered schools, or disincentives brought on by enhanced unemployment benefits. An NFIB survey of over 500 small businesses “reported last week that 42% of them had job openings they couldn’t fill.” NFIB research executive director Holly Wade was quoted saying, “As long as we’ve been conducting the survey, it’s never been that high.”

Unemployment Benefits Blamed For Labor Shortage. Insider (4/21, Taylor) reported US businesses are placing the blame for staffing woes with the stimulus package, saying it incentivized potential hires to remain unemployed through a combination of federal and state unemployment benefits. “The biggest challenge out there is the federal government and the state government are going to continue with this unemployment,” said 60-unit McDonald’s franchisee Blake Casper, one of many operators to test cash sign-on bonuses as incentives for new hires. “John Motta, a Dunkin’ franchisee who serves as chairman of the Coalition of Franchisee Association, said the math just doesn’t add up for many people deciding between unemployment benefits and working at a fast-food chain.”

The Wall Street Journal (4/23, Duehren, Restuccia, Subscription Publication) reported on how a number of Congressional Democrats are pressing for the inclusion of permanent changes to unemployment benefits in an antipoverty package the President is expected to introduce, with the changes entailing more and generous and lengthier benefits.

The Detroit Free Press (4/22, Tompor) reported, “people who already received the third stimulus payment were shocked to receive extra money in recent days. Nearly 700,000 supplemental payments this week went to people who earlier this year received a stimulus payment based on their 2019 tax returns.” They “received extra money, either a new or larger payment, after their 2020 income tax returns were processed by the IRS.” The Free Press says the “‘plus-up’ payments in the most recent batch had a value of nearly $1.2 billion.”

The New York Times (4/15, Ember) reported initial jobless claims “fell last week to their lowest level of the pandemic.” The Labor Department said Thursday that “about 613,000 people filed first-time claims for state unemployment benefits last week,” marking “a decrease of 153,000 from the previous week. In addition, 132,000 filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal program that covers freelancers, part-timers and others who do not routinely qualify for state benefits. That was a decline of 20,000 from the previous week.”