Report: small businesses struggling

A new Washington Small Business Economic Trends report delivers sobering news for the state’s small business community. The data reveals that small businesses are underperforming the national average on nearly every key measure of economic health, with state policies on taxes, regulations and labor costs emerging as primary culprits.

The report’s Small Business Optimism Index for Washington sits at 94.5, 4 points below the U.S. at 98.5 and 3.5 points below the long-term national average.

This gap reflects broad weakness across components. Plans to increase employment stand at just 5.3% in Wash...