FSB Policy Reports | Small Business Index

It wasn’t the end to the year that many small firms were hoping for.

Scottish SBI figures for Q3 2023 are in.

Small business confidence stays in negative territory.

Small business confidence loses momentum to fall further into negative territory.

Small business confidence recovered strongly on the quarter but is still in lightly negative territory

Fourth quarter fall in confidence sees 2022 end on a record low outside periods of lockdown

The third quarter of 2022 has been another downbeat one for small businesses.

The Small Business Index (SBI) fell by 13.9 points in Q3 2022, reaching -45.7, its weakest reading since Q4 2020. Q3’s fall was the second in a row, with the Index having fallen by 46.1 points in Q2, reaching -31.8.

Small business confidence lowest on record outside of lockdowns