New survey: Supplier price hikes at a 7-month low but still elevated according to small business owners
(Moscow, Idaho) -- Wholesale inflation rose 0.2% in June according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index, doubling economist expectations. And year-over-year wholesale inflation ticked up to 2.6%, up from 2.4%. That's not good news for those expecting a Federal Reserve interest rate cut this year.
However, in the latest Freedom Economy survey of 80,000 small business owners, 71.8% reported that their supplier prices rose again in June. While still elevated, June’s reading is the lowest in the past 7 months and represents a 10-point drop from May 2024.
“There’s still a lot of uncertainty among small business owners as they anticipate inflation’s direction,” said RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes, who was a pioneer in developing labor market analytics for economic forecasting. “We see this uncertainty in the current labor market, where 3 in 4 small businesses have parked their personnel planning – neither hiring nor reducing staff. Unfortunately, today’s wholesale inflation report doesn’t indicate that stability and predictability are returning to wholesale prices and the economy as a whole.”
74% of employers told the Freedom Economy survey that they were neither hiring nor reducing staff.
And, in sharp contrast to optimism early in the year, nearly half of small business owners now believe the Federal Reserve will hold rates steady for the year, abandoning rate cuts.
The Freedom Economy Survey is a joint project of RedBalloon and PublicSquare, sampling a file of over 80,000 small business owners throughout the United States. July 2024 survey results will be released in full in the coming days. Previous survey results can be found at jobs.redballoon.work/freedomeconomy.
To schedule an interview with RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes, contact Asher Dixon at asher@redballoon.work.
Founded In 2021, RedBalloon has quickly grown to become America’s largest pro-freedom job board and corporate talent recruiter, earning a reputation for connecting serious job seekers with no-nonsense employers who prioritize a positive workplace culture free from politically and culturally divisive policies.