Small businesses

Since 1952, Schwan’s yellow trucks and friendly drivers have been delivering frozen food to households. The industry has become more competitive and crowded and recently, the company changed names and stopped deliveries in most states.

While the labor market is still tight, some owners aren’t feeling like they need to hike pay as much as they did earlier in the pandemic.

And they can achieve that through better collaboration with companies big and small in their industries.

For restaurants and retailers in particular, it can lead to something the Federal Reserve's Beige Book calls "lumpy" pricing.

Adrian Espinoza, owner of Empanada Club in Portland, Maine, talks about starting his business dealing with rising costs.

So government stats on job openings may not be telling us much.

The good news: The lowest proportion of small businesses since March 2021 reported having trouble hiring. The bad news: It's still 40%.

Foot traffic in downtown Salt Lake City reached 139% of pre-pandemic levels in spring. And other cities can learn from its example.

“Sometimes my husband jokes that I’m running a gelato non-profit, and it certainly does feel that way,” said Uli Nasibova, owner of Uli’s Gelato.

Because bigger businesses can offer more.