MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

July 31, 2023

Did you know that 90% of the businesses in Delaware are “small businesses”? The range of definitions for “small” is dizzying, so I’ll save you the trouble by sharing the U.S. Small Business Administration's business size standards.

Regardless of whether a local company is a four- or five-person enterprise or a statewide or regional business with 50 or 100 employees, they’re all considered “small” in comparison to their larger brethren. Delaware has about 475,000 full time working adults, and half of those people are employed by small businesses.

I share all of those facts and figures because it’s important, and in recognition of that importance, we are excited to direct our attention to our Superstars in Business Awards Luncheon slated for November 8th. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the program honors businesses and nonprofits for their outstanding achievements and model approaches to business and management. This event sells out every year, so make sure you register early!

One highlight of the Superstars in Business program is the presentation of the Marvin S. Gilman Bowl. Established by the Small Business Alliance in 2008, the Gilman Bowl honors an individual(s), not a business, who has made outstanding contributions to small business and nonprofit organizations of Delaware. If you know someone who you think may be a good fit for this prestigious award, nominations are being accepted until September 1. Nominate someone you know >

News You Can Use

Tomorrow is August 1^st and we kick off economic news this week with job openings data from June, manufacturing figures from July, and construction spending from June. Wednesday is all about jobs, and ADP reports its July employment numbers. On Thursday we’ll get a look at June factory orders and close out the week on Friday with unemployment figures and U.S. hourly wages for July.

This is a very busy week for publicly traded companies, as many report Q2 earnings. We start the week with Avis Budget, Blink Charging, Heartland Express, ImmunoGen, Paramount Group, and Western Digital. Headlining a busy Tuesday are Chesapeake Energy, Caesars Entertainment, Uber Technologies, and Merck, along with Advanced Micro Devices, Allstate, Camping World, Caterpillar, Electronic Arts, Global Payments, Lear, and Starbucks, among many others. Wednesday kicks off with DuPont and Exelon, and they’re joined by Allegiant Travel, CF Industries, Fair Isaac, Humana, Johnson Controls, MetLife, Public Storage, Yum! Brands, and Zillow. On Friday, Amazon, Apple, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bloom Energy, Corteva, Topgolf Callaway Brands, Fisker, and Scripps round out the week.

Michael J. Quaranta

President

Delaware State Chamber of Commerce

Uniquely Delaware

2023 Delaware Public Education at a Glance

In the upcoming 2023/2024 school year, there will only be about 11,000 high school seniors state-wide. Of those who graduate, only about 57% will pursue post-secondary education, of which an additional 30% will end up out-of-state. While enrollment has slightly increased in Delaware since 2021, nationwide graduation rates are expected to peak in 2025 and steadily begin declining.

Yet, Delaware currently has around 36,000 job vacancies. There's a clear gap here that needs to be addressed to support our workforce needs. The solution? Tapping into non-traditional talent pools is a start. While it's important to focus on the people coming out of our high schools, it's also vital that we don't forget that they are not the only solution. Read Rodel's 2023 Delaware Public Education At A Glance Report >

Celebrating 50 years of service! Whisman Giordano & Associates, LLC is a certified public accounting and business advisory firm serving clients throughout Delaware, Chester County, PA, northern Maryland, and beyond. Since 1973, they have been committed to developing relationships and delivering superior accounting, auditing, and tax services.

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