Talent Crunch Intensifies For Small Businesses, Bank Of America Finds

The year 2018 was a record year for small business (SMB) optimism in the U.S., driven by economic strength, government policy and continued efforts among the financial technology (FinTech) and financial services (FinServ) communities to introduce new tools for entrepreneurs  to make running their businesses easier, more efficient and more profitable. The latest analysis from Bank of America, published on Monday (Dec. 3), suggested that this optimism refuses to waver at the close of the year. The Bank of America Business Advantage “Fall 2018 Small Business Owner Report” found continued positivity among the nation’s small businesses, and in their outlook for the months ahead.Yet, there remains one pressing challenge for small business owners: a tight labor market, a key hurdle that may slow down SMBs’ growth ambitions.In a survey of 1,000 small business owners in the U.S., Bank of America found that 80 percent remain confident that their revenues at the end of 2018 will be larger than they were at the end of 2017. Most predicted revenues to increase in 2019, and more than two-thirds are planning to expand both figures up from this time last year.