Small business owners are regaining their economic optimism, according to the March edition of the Freedom Economy Index survey (FEI), a joint project of PublicSquare and RedBalloon. The survey, which sampled 80,000 small business owners from March 15-19, found that while recession fears are easing, employers are still cautious about making significant growth plans.
‘Small business owners are clearly feeling a turning in the economy,’ said PublicSquare CEO Michael Seifert. ‘But they’re not willing to bet the farm just yet on which direction the economy will turn next.’
One notable finding from the survey is the failing report card given to Gen Z in the workplace. According to the survey, 68% of small business owners find Gen Zers to be the ‘least reliable’ of all their employees, and 71% say Gen Z is the most likely group to have a workplace mental health issue. Additionally, less than 4% say that Gen Z is the generation that ‘most aligns with their workplace culture,’ while 62% say Gen Z is the most likely group to cause division and toxicity in the workplace.
‘The 2024 labor market will be one of the most difficult in decades,’ said Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO of RedBalloon.work. ‘With large scale retirements by baby boomers, the market needs an influx of new talent, but Gen Z is clearly struggling to make the grade.’
The survey also highlighted the ongoing reliability drought in the labor market, with 70% of employers citing ‘lack of reliability’ as their top problem when hiring. As a result, 60% of employers said they would rather be understaffed with fewer employees but more hours for the business owners than poorly staffed with more employees but more problems. The full report of the Freedom Economy Index can be found here.
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