America's Main Street is still optimistic heading into years' end

President Donald Trump's second term has brought a sense of stability, hope and growth for America's small businesses. And ahead of chilly weather sweeping much of the country, recent data shows that Trump's Main Street initiatives are still feeling warm, despite a slight dip in October. 

The American economy enjoys the products and services of the 34.8 million small businesses that existed here in 2024, which represent a staggering 99.9% of all businesses operating nationwide. The beginning of the year showed increased optimism that, while dipping in October, is still high. 

According to the early 2025 data, the U.S. is now home to 36.2 million small businesses that employ nearly 46% of the private-sector workforce. From March 2023 to March 2024, these businesses generated 9 out of every 10 net new jobs, opening 1.1 million new establishments and adding a net 1.2 million positions. Despite challenges like inflation and staffing, optimism and growth showed promise in the same data set. A staggering 67% of small business owners anticipate higher profits to close out 2025, while 66% forecast increases in sales due to inflation cooling and the growing optimism and anticipation of further interest rate cuts. 

The data also showed that 73% of small business owners reported being very, somewhat or cautiously optimistic about their entity's viability. Last month, small business owners showed only a slight dip in confidence, with the National Federation of Independent Business Index falling 0.6% to 98.2—still above its 52-year average. 

Trump has launched a number of initiatives to boost American businesses. Supercharging the Small Business Administration by launching his Made in America push kills more than $100 billion in red tape, much of which had weighed the heaviest on smaller manufacturers. Paired with tariffs that seek to level the playing field and new tax breaks for companies that keep production at home, these changes are giving entrepreneurs lower costs and greater freedom to operate. The proof is in the numbers: small-business confidence has soared to its highest level in over five decades, driving a wave of new hiring and expansion.

Through the sweeping One Big Beautiful Bill signed in the summer of 2025, Trump made the 20% pass-through deduction permanent for more than 26 million small businesses while raising the 1099 reporting threshold to $2,000 and extending Opportunity Zones to channel billions into rural and underserved communities. These permanent tax cuts prevent massive future tax increases and unlock fresh capital for growth across Main Street. Independent forecasts now show the policies adding over a million small-business jobs each year and lifting overall economic growth by as much as 3.8 percent in the near term.

In fiscal year 2025, the SBA shattered every lending record, delivering $44.8 billion in guaranteed loans and approving 84,400 new 7(a) and 504 loans—an 80% jump in the first hundred days alone. Combined with full expensing for equipment, enhanced R&D credits for firms with under $31 million in revenue, and streamlined access to capital, small companies can invest, innovate, and add workers at scale. The result is already visible: more than half a million private-sector jobs have been created since Trump's inauguration.