July 2025 Small Business Data Outlook: Cautious Optimism as Tariff and Hiring Concerns Remain

Summary: Side hustle economy is still going strong.

• • 27% of adults in the U.S. have a side hustle (9 points lower than last year).
  • 34% of GenZ (ages 18-28) have side hustles. 31% of millennials (ages 29-44), 23% of Gen X (ages 45-60), and 22% of boomers (ages 61-79) have side hustles.
  • 41% of side hustlers use their earnings to finance voluntary expenses, 35% use the income for regular living expenses, 28% put earnings into savings, and 20% use side hustle income to pay down debt.
  • On average, side hustlers earn $885 per month.
  • 15% of side hustlers are in the online sales sector. 14% side hustlers are in professional services, 9% in food delivery, 7% in pet care, and 6% in teaching/tutoring.

Learn more about this data from the Bankrate Side Hustles Survey, published on July 9, 2025.

Summary: Small business owners were surprised by robust sales in June and are cautious about planning for the remainder of the year (note: survey taken prior to passage of the tax bill).

• 11% of small business owners believe it is a good time to expand their business (1 point higher than May).
• -5% of small business owners reported higher sales in the past 3-months (8 points better than May) and 7% are expecting higher sales (3 points lower than May).
• 19% of small businesses reported taxes as their top concern in June (1 point higher than May).  16% of small business owners reported labor quality their top concern (no change from May) and 11% cited inflation as their top concern (3 points lower than May and the lowest percentage since Sept. 2021).
• 36% of small businesses reported job openings they could not fill (2 points higher than May) and 86% of those trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants (no change from May).
• 58% of small businesses hired or tried to hire in June (3 points higher than May) and 13% of small businesses plan on hiring in the next 3-months (1 point higher than May).
• 33% of small business owners raised compensation in the past 3-months (7 points higher than May) and 20% plan on raising compensation in the next 3-months (1 point lower than May).
• 29% of small businesses raised their prices (4 points higher than May) and 32% are planning on raising prices in the next 3-months (1 point higher than May and the highest percentage in 14-months).
• 56% of small business owners reported capital outlays in the last 6-months (2 points lower than April) and 21% are planning capital purchases in the next 3-months (1 point lower than May).
• -4% of small business owners expect better credit conditions in the next 3-months (no change from May).
• The average rate paid for short maturity loans was 8.8% (up 0.1 point from May) and 26% of small business owners report borrowing on a regular basis (1 point higher than May).
• 35% of small business owners reported that financing was their top problem (2 points lower than May).

Learn more about this data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) June Small Business Optimism Index, published on July 8, 2025.

Summary: Consumers tighten their spending since May, but sales are up compared to 2024.

• Month-over-month sales at small businesses in June declined -1.4% from May and year-over-year sales at small businesses rose 4.4% compared to June 2024.

Learn more about this data from Fiserv May Small Business Index, published on July 2, 2025.

Summary: “You’re hired” – more small businesses are hiring and raising wages.

• 36% of small businesses reported job openings they could not fill (2 points higher than May) and 86% of those trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants (no change from May).
• 30% of small businesses have openings for skilled workers (no change from May) and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (no change for the 5 ^th consecutive month).
• 13% of small businesses plan to add new positions in the next 3-months (up 1 point from May).
• 33% of small businesses raised compensation (up 7 points in May and the largest percentage increase in 5-years)
• 19% of small businesses plan on raising compensation in the next 3-months (down 1 point from May).

Learn more about this data from National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) June Jobs Report, published on July 2, 2025.