WASHINGTON – The Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, which have driven up costs and triggered economic uncertainty for America’s small businesses. The report includes new Committee data, including that the smallest businesses lost 4.5 times more jobs in 2025 than during the pandemic in 2020. This report comes during National Small Business Week, which runs from May 3 – 9, 2026.

“It takes grit, perseverance, and enormous effort to start and grow a business, and President Trump’s tariffs have undone years of small business owners’ hard work,” said Senator Maggie Hassan, Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee. “Trump’s tariffs and the resulting turmoil have caused a spike in costs and significant uncertainty that have devastated many small business owners. With no relief in sight, the president’s tariffs continue to threaten small businesses and their vital contributions to the economy and our local communities.”

Since Trump implemented his tariffs, small businesses have endured ever-changing policies and higher operating costs, which make it harder to expand and plan for the future — and have forced many small business owners to make difficult choices about layoffs, price hikes, and whether to shut their doors for good.

Key new data in the Committee report include:

• Businesses with fewer than 10 employees lost more jobs in 2025 than any other year since Intuit Quickbooks started reporting small business employment data.
• The 292,000 jobs lost in 2025 is nearly 4.5 times larger than the number lost in 2020 during the pandemic.
• April 2026 marks 13 consecutive months of job losses at these small businesses.
• Businesses with fewer than 10 employees in especially tariff-exposed industries account for over half of total jobs lost at the smallest businesses since April 2025. Revenue at these businesses has also dropped significantly:
• Revenue at construction businesses with fewer than 10 employees has declined by an estimated 18 percent since April 2025.
• Revenue at leisure and hospitality businesses with fewer than 10 employees has declined by an estimated 15.2 percent since April 2025.

The report also features testimonials from small businesses across the country that highlight the economic uncertainty that President Trump’s tariffs have placed on their operations. For instance, the report includes this statement from Mace Machines, a small manufacturer in Exeter, New Hampshire:

“We deeply appreciate the commitment to strengthening American industry on the global stage, but tariffs on the raw materials, tooling, machinery, and inputs that manufacturers depend on daily place added pressure on already tight margins — making it harder, not easier, to compete.”

This report adds to Senator Hassan’s ongoing work as Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee and as a member of the Senate Finance Committee to lower costs for Americans, including by speaking out against the severe impact of President Trump’s tariffs. Last month, the Committee released a report that detailed the ways in which small manufacturers have been affected by tariffs as well as a similar report on tourism-reliant businesses.

Read the full report here.

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