Recent JOLTS data on job openings, hires and separations may shed some light on establishment size and the challenges of snagging new employees.

Small towns have an opportunity to address challenges from health care to transportation, but there are barriers to accessing funding.

Host Tim Sablik discusses his recent research on the value of entrepreneurs in the economic growth of rural places and small towns, as well as the obstacles that they face compared to more urban communities. Sablik also talks with Erika Bell and Laura Ullrich about what they have learned from their contacts in North Carolina and South Carolina about rural entrepreneurship. Bell is community development regional manager for the Carolinas and Ullrich is a regional economist in the Richmond Fed's Charlotte branch.

Small businesses remained challenged throughout 2021 and those that sought financing to bridge funding gaps experienced a higher rate of denials than before the pandemic.

On average, revenue and employment improved for small businesses since 2020, but performance largely lags prepandemic levels.

Entrepreneurship creates many local benefits, but starting a new business in rural places can be challenging

Remote work options seem to go hand in hand with greater geographic reach in recruitment efforts for some firms.

Tressa Gardner provides an overview of the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (SiMT), the business incubator and other programs that it operates, and its role in supporting economic development in northeastern South Carolina. Gardner is associate vice president of SiMT.

A surge of interest in starting new businesses could reverse a long-running drought.

In Florence County, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing Technology and its Gould Business Incubator are fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem and fueling small business development in South Carolina.

Businesses with no employees other than the owner often turned to personal funds in response to financial challenges during the pandemic.

Firms of color were more likely to experience financial and operational challenges stemming from the pandemic.

Small businesses continue to face significant challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly one-third of firms say they’re unlikely to survive without additional government aid.

Investment Connection matches banks and other funders with nonprofits and community groups seeking investment.

What does it take to deliver funding the “last mile” to the people who need it? Read more in President Tom Barkin’s latest essay.

An estimated 30 percent of Fifth District businesses are minority-owned, but this trails the minority share of the population.

The Richmond Fed took its Community Conversations program to Manassas to learn how the area have pivoted to meet business and community needs during the pandemic.

Andy Bauer provides an update on economic conditions in Maryland as the state recovers from the severe downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policymakers, national pundits, and researchers often point to the importance of small firms in job creation. Did small firms play a special role in the recovery of aggregate employment during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Economists at the Richmond Fed, the University of Virginia, UC Irvine, and Purdue analyze how monetary policy affects lending relationships for small businesses and vice versa.

We construct and calibrate a monetary model of corporate finance with endogenous formation of lending relationships. The equilibrium features money demands by firms that depend on their access to credit and a pecking order of financing means.

Loan forbearance and other debt relief measures have been part of the effort to help struggling households and businesses.

This report looks at small businesses and the assistance programs to aid them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial institutions that lend to small businesses are on the front lines of financial support. How are these lenders supporting small businesses during COVID-19?

The Fed’s Small Business Credit Survey, fielded in Q3 and Q4 of 2019, offers baseline data on small firm financing and credit positions before the COVID-19 pandemic.

This issue of the Community Pulse presents the findings from our 2019 survey.

Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin discussed how entrepreneurship can boost economic growth at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce 2019 Annual Meeting and Business Summit.

This issue of the Community Pulse presents the findings from our 2018 survey.

What motivates entrepreneurs to run a business? Some small-business owners like the Jones family are motivated by values rather than financial gain.

This issue of the Community Pulse presents the findings from our 2017 survey.

This issue of the Community Pulse presents the findings from our 2016 survey.

The current issue of Community Pulse presents the results of our 2015 survey.

The current issue of Community Pulse presents the results of our fall 2014 survey.

The current issue of Community Pulse presents the results of our spring 2014 survey.

Richmond Fed President Jeffrey M. Lacker spoke about the economic outlook Jan. 17, 2014, in remarks to the Richmond chapter of the Risk Management Association.

This Economic Brief explores the need for and challenges facing the small-dollar loan market in the United States.

Since the recession started in 2007, there has been a growing concern that small businesses may lack adequate access to credit. This Economic Brief examines the complexity of small business credit issues.