November 2025 Small Business Index Rises Sharply

by Gary.Stockton@experian.com 2 min read January 6, 2026

The Experian Small Business Index™ improved by 15.9 points month-over-month and 9.1 points Year-Over-Year

Experian Small Business Index

Nov 2025

  • Index Value (Nov):52.0
  • Previous Month:36.1
  • MoM:15.9
  • YoY:9.1 (Nov 2024 = 42.9)

The Experian Small Business Index™ increased substantially in November by 15.9 points to 52.0. This also represents a YoY increase of 9.1 points. There was increased business activity with the end of the government shutdown in November. Business owners saw an increase in new account openings and approval rates, along with an increased number of new business formations.

Negative credit conditions improved, with reductions in delinquencies and utilization. The Small Business Optimism Index from NFIB increased to 99.0 from 98.2 in October. There was an increase in the number of new business applications to 535K from 499K in October, the most in a single month since July 2020. Inflation fell in November, to 2.7% from 3.0% in September, the lowest level since July. November unemployment was up to 4.6% from 4.4% in September. The inflation and unemployment rates are likely to influence Federal Reserve policy decisions as they consider whether additional rate cuts are warranted in 2026 after a 25 bps drop in December.

Related Posts

Small Business Index Declines 9 Points in August

The Experian Small Business Index™ declined 9 points to 38.2 in August, which is nearly level with last year at this time.

October 6, 2026 by Gary.Stockton@experian.com
Small Business Index Drops 3.3 Points in July

Experian Small Business Index saw rising utilization and 91+ day past-due rates, which contributed to the monthly decline.

August 31, 2026 by Gary.Stockton@experian.com
Small Business Index Declines in June

The Experian Small Business Index declined by 0.7 in June, but remains well above last years level on strong small business sentiment.

August 5, 2026 by Gary.Stockton@experian.com
Commercial Insights Hub

Follow Us!

Subscribe to our blog

Enter your name and email for the latest updates.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

About this blog

The latest insight, tips, and trends on all things related to commercial risk by the team at Experian Business Information Services. Please follow us on social media.

Stay informed by subscribing to this blog

Sign up for email notifications when new content has been published by Experian Business Information Services.
Sign Up