The Experian Small Business Index™ declined in October, dropping by 5.0 points month-over-month. Oct 2025 Index Value (Oct): 36.1 Previous Month: 41.1 MoM: -5.0 YoY: -4.6 (Oct 2024 = 40.7) The Experian Small Business Index™ decreased in October by 5 points to 36.1. This drop is attributable to decreased origination activity for small businesses and small business owners, along with an increase in delinquencies for small business owners’ consumer trades. Small business trade delinquency rates have remained stable. The NFIB reported a decrease in small business optimism to 98.2 in October from 98.8 in September, and the University of Michigan reported a drop in consumer sentiment to 51.1 in November from 53.6. Due to the extended government shutdown, several of the economic indicators were not reported for October, but there were signs of positive factors in the macroeconomic environment. US employers reported hiring 283K in October, up from 117K in September, and existing home sales were up 1.2% in October to 4.1M. Explore Experian Small Business Index Related Posts

Experian chats with Giggle Finance Co-Founder about funding gig workers while managing risk and how AI is helping them to scale quickly.

Join the experts from Experian for an insightful discussion about small business performance and the greater economy.

Read the tea leaves on retail inventory risk trends, stock gaps, and rising risk exposure during the critical holiday season.

The Experian Small Business Index™ increased in September by 3.7 points to 41.1, the second straight month of increases.

Logistics credit risk is rising according to Experian’s latest Commercial Pulse report, signaling financial strain.

Experian Commercial Pulse Report shows food prices are having a big impact on where and how consumers choose to eat, but also on credit risk.

Experian Small Business Index suggests the US economy is set to expand in the third quarter, spurred on by recent rate cuts.

Learn how Experian unifies fraud and credit scoring to help risk managers detect threats early when lending to small businesses.

This week Experian focuses on the growing construction industry and early warning risk signals for lenders and risk managers.

Discover how small businesses have transformed since the pandemic, from digital adoption to growth resilience, in Experian’s latest report.

The Experian Small Business Index™ declined in July to 32.8, down 11.9 points. The index tracks the health of small business owners nationwide