Energy Costs Hitting Self-Employed

Even the smallest businesses are raising prices and reducing travel, a survey finds.

By Michael Gadd | 
 

Higher energy costs are prompting the nation's smallest businesses to raise prices and reduce business-related travel, according to a recent survey by the National Association for the Self-Employed.

In a poll of 564 businesses with fewer than 10 employees, 95 percent said rising energy costs were having a negative impact on their business, the Washington D.C.-based trade group reported. Only six percent said they were unaffected.

More than half of the survey respondents said they've had to raise prices for products or services to offset higher costs, while 76 percent said they were cutting back on business-related travel, up from 44 percent in a similar survey last year.

According to the Energy Department, average gas prices fell below $4 per gallon in recent weeks, yet remain over $1 more per gallon than a year ago.

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