Small businesses are shaking off years of economic gloom and ramping up investment, hiring, and growth planning, according to the latest Freedom Economy Index (FEI) Survey. Conducted in March 2025, the survey of a universe of 50,000 small business owners nationwide shows a seismic shift in sentiment The shift is seismic—80% say their economic faith has spiked since November, and 68% are now betting on economic growth for 2025, a head-rattling shift from last October where 57% were predicting recession.

“These businesses have gone from gloom to boom in a big way,” said Michael Seifert, CEO of PublicSquare. “These are the sentiments of America’s frontline small businesses. You won’t find these survey respondents in Manhattan corporate boardrooms or Silicon Valley c-suites, but rather on main streets in towns all across America.”

“Small businesses aren’t just surviving—they’re ready to thrive,” said Andrew Crapuchettes, CEO of RedBalloon.work. “And, they’re ramping up hiring plans and searching for capital so they can put their businesses on the launchpad.”

Key Findings

1. Economic sentiment is soaring. Four months ago, nearly 60% of small business owners saw a recession coming, per the November FEI. Now 68% are betting on growth for 2025.

2. Confidence is surging. 80% say their economic outlook’s up since November—50.5% call it “greatly” improved, and 29.7% say “somewhat.” Only 6.6% feel worse.

3. Hiring is booming. 32% are hiring to expand their teams—a massive jump from October’s paltry 9.5%. Layoffs are nearly dead: just 2.6% plan cuts, down from 10% last fall.

4. Inflation is still a concern, but loosening its grip. Almost 60% of small business owners still feel inflation’s bite. But that’s a steep drop from October, when 88% were reeling from it.

5. AI attitudes have flipped. The number of AI adopters has doubled, as too have those “intrigued and looking into” AI.

6. Trump Administration ratings. We have an in-depth look at approval ratings, opinions on priorities, DOGE cuts, Elon, and more.

Full results are available here.

About PublicSquare:

PublicSquare is the largest Marketplace & Payments ecosystem in the nation that serves consumers and business owners who value life, family, and liberty.

About RedBalloon.work:

RedBalloon links small business employers and talent through their national job board, innovative talent recruiting service, and industry-leading applicant tracking system (ATS) software.