Challenges remain for small business as COVID recovery builds

Small businesses have been hit particularly hard by the COVID crisis in the US, and the challenges haven’t gone away. As the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 surges in many places, one recent survey for The Wall Street Journal found declining confidence that the economy will bounce back next year. Now, just 39 percent of respondents expect better economic conditions in 2022, down from 50 percent in July.