Core Insights - Small business owners are entering the last quarter of 2025 with decreased confidence in profit growth expectations, with only 49% expecting an increase compared to 55% in 2024, reflecting ongoing uncertainties in demand, inflation, policy, and costs [2][3] Business Confidence - The percentage of business owners expecting no change in profits has risen from 27% to 35%, indicating growing concerns about growth [3] - There is a slight decrease in the expectation of profit shortfalls at year-end, with 16% anticipating shortfalls compared to 18% last year [3] Investment Spending - Business investment spending remains flat across key areas, including customer acquisition, product and service development, equipment/technology, hiring and retaining, and risk management [4] - A notable 3% increase in hiring and retraining employees has been reported [5] Hiring Plans - The intention to hire remains stable, but the number of employees businesses plan to hire has increased, with 13% of business owners planning to hire 10 or more new workers, and 12% planning to hire six to ten new employees, both up 3% from last year [6] - The percentage of employers planning to hire just one to five new employees has decreased by 5% [7] - A significant 26% of respondents indicated they do not need to hire, and 18% cannot afford to, consistent with 2024 figures [8] Hiring Environment - The difficulty in hiring has decreased, with only 8% of owners stating they are not hiring due to challenges in finding employees, down from 15% last year [9]