Gallup has done a deeper dive into the data in its latest poll, which I highlighted last night. The numbers show small businesses content with the state of the economy, giving the Trump Administration high marks in this area.
From an overall economic perspective, the chart that matters most is the top-level one, which shows small business optimism at levels not seen since the latter stages of the housing bubble.
Source: Gallup
But the more granular data show a general contentment with the Trump Administration’s overall handling of the economy.
Gallup concludes:
Small-business owners have been bullish on the new administration since the November 2016 election, evidenced by the sharp increase in owners’ overall optimism measured by the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index. These current results show more directly that owners tend to view the performance of the administration in positive light, although this praise is not universal.
President Trump appears to have carved out an image among small-business owners that is distinctly more positive than that of Congress, which gets the most negative ratings of the four government entities measured. This pattern mirrors the low esteem in which Congress is held by the population in general.
Owners appear cognizant of the specific areas in which the administration did well in 2017 — an improved economy, job creation, tax reform — and likely will remain equally as or more positive about the administration if it is able to address other pressing problems in the year ahead.
It’s not yet clear what impact this sentiment could have in this year’s mid-term elections. But the positive sentiment and small business owners’ desire to invest and hire right now suggests that, come November, we will have had at least another two quarters of robust economic growth and the unemployment rate will be lower than it is today.
Source: Half of Small-Business Owners Give Administration High Marks, Gallup