New Report Released on What Small Businesses in the Pennsylvania Region Said About Their Challenges

As more pandemic assistance programs were phased out in 2022, small businesses in our region still needed funding. And many were coping with supply chain issues, staffing challenges, and rising prices. This is what small businesses in our region reported to the Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey in the fall of 2022.

Using data from the 2023 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2022 Small Business Credit Survey, four briefs offer a snapshot of small business conditions in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the Philadelphia metro, and the Third District states overall (Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania).

Here is what small businesses in our region said about their conditions in 2022:

  • Many firms saw increases in revenue compared with 2021. But a majority reported financial conditions were still poor or fair and many continued to need funding.
  • The biggest operational challenges were supply chain issues, hiring or retaining qualified staff, and reaching customers or growing sales.
  • Their biggest financial challenges? Rising costs of goods, services, or wages, paying operating expenses, uneven cash flow, and weak sales.

Read the briefs.