Alignable Research Center
Welcome To The Alignable Research Center
Alignable is the largest online referral network for small businesses with over 9 million members across North America.
We established our research center in early March 2020, to track and report the impact of the Coronavirus on small businesses, and to monitor recovery efforts, informing the media, policymakers, and our members. While the research center was launched by the COVID Crisis, as the largest online network of small business owners in North America, we are constantly collecting information we feel will help champion the cause and success of the Small Business Economy.
You can also find additional COVID related information and resources in our Coronavirus Resource Center.
Below you’ll find links to much of our research and reporting. If you have any questions about the reports or to learn more about our data please contact Chuck Casto via email.
Research & Insights Reports:
2025 Tariff Reports
- February Tariff Report, 2/7/25
2023 Comprehensive Quarterly Reports
- Q2 Road to Recovery (5/4/23)
- Q1 Road to Recovery (1/20/23)
2022 Comprehensive Monthly / Quarterly Reports
- Q4 Road to Recovery (1/20/23)
-
Q3 Road to Recovery (8/2/22)
- Q2 Road to Recovery (4/21/22)
- March Road to Recovery (3/7/22)
- January Road to Recovery (1/30/22)
2021 Comprehensive Monthly Reports
- December Road to Recovery (12/27/21)
- November Road to Recovery (11/8/21)
- October Road to Recovery (10/27/21)
- September Road to Recovery (9/13/21)
- August Road to Recovery (8/11/21)
- July Road to Recovery (7/15/21)
- June Road to Recovery (6/11/21)
- May Road to Recovery (5/10/21)
- April Road to Recovery (4/5/21)
- March Road to Recovery (3/10/21)
-
February Road to Recovery (2/9/21)
- January Road to Recovery (1/14/21)
2020 Comprehensive Monthly Reports
- December Road to Recovery (12/1/20)
- November Road to Recovery (11/4/20)
- October Road to Recovery (10/6/20)
- September Road to Recovery (9/8/20)
- August Road to Recovery (8/6/20)
- July Road to Recovery (7/2/20)
- June Road to Recovery (6/6/20)
- May Road to Recovery (5/6/20)
2020 Early Outbreak Weekly Reports
- Week 11 update: Data through 5/29/20
- Week 10 update: Data through 5/22/20
- Week 9 update: Data through 5/15/20
- Week 8 update: Data through 5/8/20
- Week 7 update: Data through 5/1/20
- Week 6 update: Data through 4/24/20
- Week 5 update: Data through 4/17/20
- Week 4 update: Data through 4/10/20
- Week 3 update: Data through 4/3/20
- Week 2 update: Data through 3/27/20
- Week 1 update: Data through 3/19/20
PPP Relief Program
- 78% Of SMBs Support PPP Deadline Extension, But Other Problems Remain Requiring Repair (3/15/21)
- Nearly Half Of SMBs Are Optimistic About Biden's New 2021 PPP Changes (3/2/21)
- Only 11% Of SMBs Have 2021 PPP Funds So Far (2/25/21)
- Special Report: Covid Crisis - Relief Needed for 85% of SMBs (12/9/20)
- Looming Cash Crisis (6/22/20)
- Why $130 Billion Sits Idle (6/18/20)
- Minority Owned Businesses Struggle to Access PPP (5/26/20)
- Majority of SMBs Still Waiting for Funds (5/6/20)
- 86% waiting for PPP Funding (3/21/20)
- 50% applying for PPP Relief (4/13/20)
- CARES Act Might Not Be Enough (4/3/20)
Business Segment Reports
- Special Report: Small Biz Owners Weigh In On Politics & Election (5/21/24)
- 55% of SMBs Want To Ban TikTok (5/3/24)
-
Retail Crisis Looms (11/26/23)
- Q4 2023 Revenue Report (11/6/23)
- "High Interest Rates Are Killing Me" (9/21/23)
- Side Hustlers Rejoice: Temp Hiring Hits New High (8/12/23)
- Surge In Part-Time Hiring Breaks '23 Record, As Need For Full-Timers Sinks To New Low (8/9/23)
- 57% Of SMBs Have Used ChatGPT, 26% Already Feel It Will Help Their Businesses Grow (7/30/23)
- Bank Turmoil Leads To 65% Increase In Credit Union Use By SMBs (3/31/23)
- 54% of SMBs Are Trying To Hire Again (2/15/23)
- 62% of SMBs Say A Republican-Controlled Congress Would Help Their Businesses (11/3/22)
- Holiday Hiring Hits New Low: Only 7% Seeking Temp Workers, Down 29% From 2021 (10/13/22)
- Hiring Freeze Breaks New Record: 63% of SMBs Halt Hiring, 10% Start Layoffs (9/7/22)
- Special Report: 47% of SMBs at Risk, Fear Closing By Fall (7/7/22)
- Special Report: Small Biz Employers Fear Summer Jobs Situation (6/8/22)
- Special Report: 51% of SMBs Express Concerns About Shutdowns Due To Skyrocketing Inflation (5/23/22)
- 83% of Restaurants Still Can't Find Enough Workers, Up 3% (5/11/22)
- 50% of SMBs Disapprove Of U.S. Reactions To Russia-Ukraine War (4/10/22)
- Special Report: 68% Of SMBs Say Gas Price Spikes Have Hurt Their Business (3/29/22)
- Special Report: Small Biz Labor Shortage Worsens, 65% Can't Find Workers, Up 5% (3/4/22)
- Special Report: Only 16% Of Small Biz Owners Think The Feds Are Doing A Good Job (2/25/22)
- Special Report: 60% Of U.S. Small Businesses Still Can't Solve Labor Shortage (2/3/22)
-
Recovery Crisis: 53% of U.S. Small Businesses Hurt By Omicron, 57% of Canadian SMBs (1/26/22)
- Special Report: 44% Of Small Biz Owners Fear Omicron Threat (12/8/21)
- 64% of U.S. Small Biz Owners Say The Feds Need To Do More To Fuel Their Recovery (11/15/21)
- Special Report: No End In Sight For Labor Shortage (10/26/21)
- The Gig Economy and Hiring Trend EDGE Report (9/2/21)
- Special Report: 76% of SMBs Fear Delta Variant Will Hurt Their Recovery (8/6/21)
-
How SMBs Really Feel About The Proposed Minimum Wage Hike (2/25/21)
- Veteran Owned Business Recovery (10/30/20)
- Main Street Businesses (10/19/20)
- Main Street Retail on the Brink (8/27/20)
- Expectations for Customers Returning (6/9/20)
- Payroll & Hiring Expectations (6/8/20)
- 90% of Businesses Impacted by COVID (4/7/20)
Economic Snapshot: Revenue & Rent Report
- November/December 2024 Revenue & Rent Report (12/12/24)
- September/October 2024 Revenue & Rent Report (10/15/24)
- July/August 2024 Revenue & Rent Report (8/16/24)
- June 2024 Revenue & Rent Report (7/12/24)
- May 2024 Revenue & Rent Report (6/7/24)
- March/April 2024 Rent Report (4/26/24)
- February 2024 Rent Report (3/12/24)
- January 2024 Rent Report (2/6/24)
- December 2023 Rent & Revenue Report (12/30/23)
- November 2023 Rent Report (11/30/23)
- October 2023 Rent Report (10/29/23)
- September 2023 Rent Report (9/29/23)
- August 2023 Rent Report (8/30/23)
- July 2023 Rent Report (7/29/23)
- June 2023 Rent Report (6/28/23)
- May 2023 Rent Report (5/31/23)
- April 2023 Rent Report (4/27/23)
-
March 2023 Rent Report (3/24/23)
- February 2023 Rent Report (2/28/23)
- January 2023 Rent Report (1/31/23)
- December 2022 Rent Report (12/30/22)
- November 2022 Rent Report (11/23/22)
-
October 2022 Rent Report (10/28/22)
- September 2022 Rent Report (9/30/22)
- August 2022 Rent Report (8/24/22)
- July 2022 Rent Report: Nearly Half of Restaurants & Car Services Couldn't Pay July Rent (7/29/22)
- June 2022 Rent Report: New Rent Crisis Record (6/29/22)
- May/Q2 Rent Report: 2022 Rent Crisis Breaks Troubling Records (5/30/22)
- April 2022 Rent Report (4/28/22)
- February 2022 Rent Report (2/28/22)
- January 2022 Rent Report (1/31/22)
- December 2021 Rent Report (12/31/21)
- November 2021 Rent Report (11/18/21)
- October 2021 Rent Report (10/29/21)
-
September 2021 Rent Report (9/29/21)
- August 2021 Rent Report (8/26/21)
- July 2021 Rent Report (7/28/21)
- June 2021 Rent Report (6/16/21)
- May 2021 Rent Report (5/18/21)
- April 2021 Rent Report (4/15/21)
- March 2021 Rent Report (3/8/21)
- February 2021 Rent Report (2/7/21)
- January 2021 Rent Report (1/15/21)
- December 2020 Rent Report (12/5/20)
- November Rent Report (11/11/20)
- October Rent Report (10/8/20)
- September Rent Report (9/11/20)
- Negotiating Rent Reductions (9/10/20)
- April Rent Report (4/28/20)
Business Closures & Reopenings
- 35% of SMBs At Risk During The Summer Of '21 (6/2/21)
- 67% of SMBs Fear Inflation Will Hurt Their Recovery (5/7/21)
- A Tale Of Two Recoveries? Alignable Recovery Projection Poll (4/8/21)
- 45% Of SMBs Fear Closing Before COVID's Contained (3/22/21)
- At Risk of Closing in Q4 (11/25/20)
- State of SMB Economy (9/23/20)
- Rate of Closures (7/20/20)
- 37% Struggle to Stay in Business (3/27/20)
Editorial Posts:
- PRO Act Is ANTI-Small Business & Its Timing Is Terrible (4/14/21)
- Biden Addresses PPP for Solos (3/2/21)
- We Need A Business Investment Crisis Fund (9/25/20)
- Saving Our Local Economies: #MyMoneyStaysLocal (8/4/20)
- Major Money Center Banks Turn Backs to SMBs (5/1/20)
-
Harvard Business Review: A Way Forward for SMBs (4/13/20)
Partner Sites:
We are Stronger Together in advocating for Small Business Owners and through our efforts we have found others who feel the same way. Here are links to their research and advocacy efforts:
- Indeed Hiring Lab - Research on jobs, hiring, and more
- Gusto Advocacy Page - They provide payroll systems for SMBs
- B2SMB Institute - Industry Organization in support of SMBs
Comments (11-20)
Are there existing collaborations groups that unpack these research results?
I am searching for a diverse cross section of people who are interested in researching a new form of employee & customer service support that fits into the existing data collection streams kept by Human Resource Directors, Workmen’s Comp, Heath Care Utilization Review, absenteeism, turnover, & productivity measures, and satisfaction surveys, etc.
Our groups will meet using recorded Zoom sessions with the group process mechanism that sets SMART Action Plan Steps.
We have Survey Monkey to help the group work more nimbly to divide into interest groups & as a record keeping tool.
I am new to this platform so any tips & tricks to help me work smarter to communicate better will be much appreciated.
Thanks
I appreciate allignable for anything they can do for me. I am new in ACN and am learning, hope to stand out and do tremendous progress. Thank you
Constant Contact is a great solution and served well during the -mail era. Since all good things have an end relatively speaking, the future might be with a robust solution where people might automate relationships and thrive multidimensionally. If so, the future might be very exciting indeed.
A good site for business owners to help each other.
The present accent is on “me” & not “you” or “us”. While I appreciate that everything cycles we’re in the midst of changing weather patterns which means me, you, as my customer, have to cycle to “us” or our civilization, businesses & various etc.’s will be gone so all these postings, reports, & etc.’s will be ancient history of a species that occupied earth in the past. I realize that you may think what I wrote is nonsense but in simple terms “you” are my customer & without you I don’t eat regularly so in essence I’m just a selfish business person that wants to survive just like you & everyone else.
People like Jody Wilson raybould, who
Saw first hand the failures of our elected
Officials got thrown out because of being
Everything a politician should be.
Please forward the funding to my address is 208 North Bruce Street Unit C Las Vegas, Nevada 89101
It’s game over for me. Half a million in defaulted business loans. Let go of my entire team. Revenue down by 90%. IRS is going to come after me. Credit is destroyed. That’s it. Ive left the country.
That's Good to Hear, It's New To Me, 😊 I Believe In Striving On Pushing For Better Options, So Let Me Know Y'all Need My Business
Any kind of Small Business Help Needs to be geared to specific problems and not generalizations. In my Business, as a single independant owner operator, I amdealing with brokers for OD freight, and as such, need to forge my bonds with individual brokers