A new report on the state of small businesses in New York shows a mixed outlook for entrepreneurs across the state, including thousands of small business owners on Long Island.
The report from the National Federation of Independent Business found that optimism among New York small business owners lagged slightly behind the national average during the summer of 2025, reflecting concerns about hiring, sales expectations, and the broader economy.
The organization’s Small Business Economic Trends survey measured New York’s Small Business Optimism Index at 95.6, about 2.3 points below the national average of 97.9.
While the number indicates somewhat lower confidence in the future, business owners in New York actually reported stronger assessments of their current business health compared with owners elsewhere in the country.
According to the survey, 18 percent of New York small business owners rated the health of their business as excellent, compared with 11 percent nationally. Another 57 percent said their businesses were in good condition, three points higher than the national average.
The report paints a complex picture of the state’s small business environment. New York owners were more pessimistic about future economic conditions and hiring plans, but more positive about their current financial health.
For many businesses across Long Island’s Main Street districts—from restaurants and retail shops to contractors and service companies—the biggest challenge remains finding qualified workers.
Labor quality was identified as the single most important problem facing small businesses in New York. Rising labor costs ranked as the second biggest concern, reported by 15 percent of business owners in the state, compared with 9 percent nationally.
Inflation, which was the top issue for many businesses in 2024, declined significantly as a concern. Only 8 percent of New York small business owners listed inflation as their biggest challenge in 2025, down from 18 percent the previous year.
Researchers say uncertainty about future economic conditions remains high, though slightly lower in New York than in the country overall.
The survey draws on responses from small business owners across the state, including those operating throughout Long Island’s diverse small business economy.