Main Street Metrics 2025: Trends over Time from the Small Business Credit Survey (Federal Reserve Banks (Small Business Credit Survey))

Summary

• In the 2024 survey, 38% of employer firms reported an increase in revenues over the prior 12 months, remaining unchanged from 38% in 2023.p.5
• The share of employer firms that increased their workforce in the prior 12 months rose to 29% in the 2024 survey from 26% in 2023.p.6
• By the end of the prior calendar year, 46% of employer firms operated at a profit according to the 2024 survey, compared to 47% in 2023.p.9
• A total of 81% of employer firms reported facing financial challenges in the prior 12 months in the 2024 survey.p.10
• Among firms experiencing financial challenges, 53% used the owner's personal funds in response in the 2024 survey.p.11
• The application rate for new financing over the prior 12 months increased to 36% in the 2024 survey from 34% in 2023.p.14
• In the 2024 survey, 51% of employer firm applicants were fully approved for the financing they sought, up from 46% in 2023.p.15

Key insights

1. Expectations for revenue growth in the next 12 months were held by 58% of employer firms in the 2024 survey.p.7
2. In the 2024 survey, 38% of employer firms expected to increase their employment in the next 12 months.p.8
3. The proportion of employer firms self-reporting fair or poor financial condition was 55% in the 2024 survey.p.12
4. Outstanding debt was held by 71% of employer firms at the time of the 2024 survey, compared to 69% in 2023.p.13
5. The share of employer firms with financial challenges peaked at 94% in both the 2020 and 2022 surveys before falling to 81% in 2024.p.10
6. Full approval rates for financing applicants dropped to 46% in the 2023 survey before rebounding to 51% in 2024.p.15