Of the index\u2019s 10 components, Main Street businesses in the state reported higher sales expectations, as well as positive earnings trends and employment trends when compared to NFIB\u2019s overall U.S. data, the organization said.<\/p>\n
Small businesses significantly contribute to the Lone Star State\u2019s economy, according to a Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts<\/a> report, representing 44.4% of the state\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n Business Briefing<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Jeff Burdett, the state director for Texas at The National Federation of Independent Business<\/a>, said Texas remains on entrepreneurs\u2019 radars. <\/p>\n \u201cTexas remains one of the best places to own, operate and grow a small business,\u201d Burdett said in a statement.<\/p>\n The optimism index has dipped recently, but remained above its 52-year average of 98, as small businesses\u2019 enthusiasm is generally higher now than in 2025.<\/p>\n \u201c2025 was a really tough year, uncertainty-wise,\u201d said Peter Hansen, NFIB\u2019s director of research and policy analysis. \u201cNational data continued to discount the economy slightly.\u201d<\/p>\n Small-business trends across the U.S.<\/p>\n From a national perspective, the impact of small businesses is also significant if understated. According to the Small Business Administration<\/a>, 45.9% of U.S. employees work for the sector.<\/p>\n NFIB assessed small businesses\u2019 success around the country based on 10 areas: Good time for business expansion, general economic outlook, current earnings and inventory, planned capital outlays, current job openings, hiring plans, satisfaction and expected inventory change, sales and credit conditions.<\/p>\n And the U.S. is doing slightly better than in previous years.<\/p>\n From manufacturers to farmers, NFIB aims to evaluate a broad range of small businesses, said Hansen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to represent a cross section of small businesses,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Texas outperforms the nation<\/p>\n Despite economic headwinds in 2025, Texas outperformed the U.S. by only a modest margin.<\/p>\n It had a gross domestic product (GDP) of roughly $2.9 trillion in the third quarter, according to Federal Reserve Economic Data<\/a>, making it the second-largest economy in the U.S. This contributed to the stability of small businesses. <\/p>\n \u201cOur state\u2019s practical approach to governing allows small business owners to do what they do best: serve their customers, create good-paying jobs and invest in their communities,\u201d Burdett said in a statement.<\/p>\n In Texas, 17% of owners rated the health of their business as excellent, and 6% rated it as poor, both figures 6 and 1 point above the national average, respectively. <\/p>\n It also showed stronger earnings trends and employment conditions compared to NFIB\u2019s overall U.S. data.<\/p>\n Navigating workforce and cost pressures<\/p>\n Tight labor markets and shifting workforce dynamics have posed challenges, with the organization citing labor quality as \u201cthe top issue\u201d for more businesses in the sector, and \u201cthe only issue that is meaningfully worse in Texas than in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n According to NFIB\u2019s data<\/a>, 28% of Texas owners reported labor quality as their single most important problem in summer 2025, compared to the national average of 19%. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you see more economic or business growth and need more workers, it makes you worry about labor quality,\u201d Hansen said.<\/p>\n Texas still has a decidedly business-friendly regulatory environment, with the data sending a positive signal about the fortunes of small businesses in the state overall.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, businesses are slightly increasing compensation, with inflation as a contributing factor, producing mixed effects for workers and owners.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an extraordinarily tight labor market,\u201d Hansen said. \u201cWorkers are feeling the impact of inflation, and consumers are spending a bit more consistently.\u201d<\/p>\n When inflation rises, wages often increase, but whether workers or owners actually gain depends on who can better adjust.<\/p>\n Simultaneously, higher interest rates have also increased borrowing costs and made financing expansion more difficult.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should reconsider the number of executives for whom compensation information is provided,\u201d the regulator said.<\/p>\n The CEO of Apple has warned the company is about to \u2018hit the chip wall.\u2019 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Everything is bigger in Texas \u2014 and small business optimism is no exception, according to new data. Released…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":169655,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[19582,325,27,29,28],"class_list":["post-169654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-local-companies","tag-small-business","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/169655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771417091_282_HD72557SAWRZKVVU6EPFI25H4I.jpg\")
<\/a>In Dallas, SEC\u2019s Atkins calls for shrinking executive pay disclosure<\/a><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1771417091_70_V4GLWBW24ZEGLBIP3P5MATCSSI.jpg\")
<\/a>Elon Musk, Tim Cook add voices to chorus of warnings about \u2018unprecedented\u2019 chip crisis<\/a><\/p>\n