With the war in Iran and growing costs creating uncertainty, the economy is atop voters minds heading into the 2026 midterms. While data reveals Texas is faring better economically than much of the country, growth might be slowing.
ByKelly Loeffler, the administrator for the Small Business Administration, is in Texas this week touting the agency's work to help small businesses, but recent data shows the economic picture is not all positive.
Small businesses make up the vast majority of businesses in Texas, so when they do well, the economy often follows. The same holds true when the trend heads the other direction. On Tuesday, Manish Mehta, the president of Modular Systems, said business is good, in part, because of federal Small Business funding that helped them expand their energy services manufacturing company on Houston's north side. "Small businesses are doing great thanks to this strong economic boom that we're in," Loeffler told ABC13. "We have small business confidence just right at the 52-year average."ABC13 looked at three years of SBA data and found that, despite continued growth, new businesses are closing down more often year over year. Eyewitness News asked Administrator Loeffler about the downward trend. "I think we're turning it around," Loeffler said. "We're seeing small businesses flourish. The Trump SBA has put out $45 billion in capital to 85,000 small businesses in the first year, an all-time record for our 72-year-old agency. " Also, in March, a survey from the National Federation of Independent Business found optimism is down, and uncertainty is up. "I think it's very short-lived," she said about the survey. "It's a blip. I think we're going through a period of engagement in the Middle East that needs to be brought to a conclusion. We'll get through that. We'll get back to a strong economy."Copyright © 2026 KTRK-TV. All Rights Reserved.
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