The  Small Business Credit Survey (SBCS) has been administered nationally since 2016 by the 12 Federal Reserve Banks in collaboration with a network of hundreds of community and business groups throughout the country. The SBCS gathers information from thousands of small-business owners on business conditions and characteristics, credit experiences, and owner demographics. It continues to be the largest national dataset of its kind, and its reports provide awareness of small business challenges and how owners respond to them. 

During this webinar, Federal Reserve experts provided an in-depth look at findings from the 2026 Report on Employer Firms. They explored key insights from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey, including:

• Business financing needs
• Credit approval outcomes and challenges
• Customer dynamics and trade activity
• Adoption of artificial intelligence

This session offered timely, data-driven perspectives for those working directly with small businesses, supporting economic development efforts, or seeking to better understand the current small business landscape. Attendees gained actionable insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping small businesses nationwide.

• Business financing needs
• Credit approval outcomes and challenges
• Customer dynamics and trade activity
• Adoption of artificial intelligence

This session offered timely, data-driven perspectives for those working directly with small businesses, supporting economic development efforts, or seeking to better under stand the current small business landscape. Attendees gained actionalbe insights into the challenges and opportunities shaping small businesses nationwide.

Where an individual lives can play a role in shiping their employment opportunities and interactions. While issues related to where a person is located have been overshadowed by issues related to an individual's personal circumstances, this is starting to shift.

During this seminar, presented by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors on April 2, 2026, experts from research and policy discussed how location affects job markets and can contribute to income inequality.

Occupational and economic mobility are crucial for a healthy economy that supports all. In this Connecting Communities webinar, learn more about the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and Cleveland's Occupational Mobility Explorer (OME) and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta's Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CLIFF) tools. The OME sheds light on skills-based career pathways in the US labor market for jobseekers and employers. CLIFF tools help workers understand how career advancement decisions may affect public benefits, taxes, and tax credits. Together, these two tools can help workers and employers identify potential career advancement opportunities and better understand how such trajectories might better position them for greater economic stability.

The session provides a brief overview of each tool and demonstrates how they can be used together to help individuals understand their economic mobility journey. This includes a better understanding of their possible career paths and the potential financial implications of specific occupational choices. Panelists from organizations that use data resources, including these tools, shared their perspectives on skills-based hiring, helping workers navigate benefits cliffs, and ways to foster partnerships with employers.

Related resources:

• Occupational Mobility Explorer
• Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster
• Fed Communities' Benefits Cliff story series
• Powerful tool helps job seekers chart a path to higher-paying roles