This week we recognize and celebrate small businesses in Delaware and around the country through National Small Business Week. While large, publicly traded companies always seem to be in the news, over 40% of us are employed by small businesses. In fact, the greatest number of small businesses are really small and have 10 or fewer employees. Here in Delaware, about half of the workforce is employed by businesses with fewer than 50 employees. In many cases, small businesses can include those in the nonprofit sector since they are incorporated businesses first, and their tax status is determined after application and approval is granted by the Internal Revenue Service. I hasten to add that a tax status is not a management philosophy either!  

Whether corner convenience stores, small restaurants, boutique retailers, welding shops, lawn mower repair, or professional services like accounting, law or medicine, these businesses are called upon to do almost everything their larger competitors do, but with far fewer people. One of the greatest challenges for small businesses is staffing. Small businesses have very little redundancy so even a temporary loss of one person can have a big impact. 

This is a week to recognize small businesses and what they mean to our local economies and almost half of the state's workforce!

For more than 50 years, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has celebrated National Small Business Week, which recognizes the critical contributions of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Their Virtual Summit is running today through Thursday and will feature access to critical federal resources, educational workshops, and networking to help our nation’s entrepreneurs pivot and grow in the face of any challenge, seize new opportunities, and make sure the dream of starting a small business is in reach for every American. Learn more here >

We start the week with construction spending results from March today and get job openings, quits, factory orders, and motor vehicle sales tomorrow. Wednesday brings us the ADP employment report for April and a late afternoon press conference with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Thursday is more job data, while Friday closes out a busy week with April unemployment figures, March labor force participation rates, and consumer credit figures from March. 

Companies with earnings calls this week include a call today with Chemours, Moody’s, and Six Flags Entertainment. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) is spotlighted on Tuesday and joined by Pfizer, Airbnb, BP, Chesapeake Utilities, DuPont de Nemours, Incyte, Lyft, and Starbucks. Allegheny Technologies, Allstate, CVS Health, Fisker, Marriott International, Novo Nordisk, and Uber lead the list of companies with calls on Wednesday. Air Products & Chemicals, Ball, Lending Tree, Shake Shack, Shell, DraftKings, Cigna, and Adidas round out the week.  

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