A solid majority of small business owners say that they are not currently hiring because they cannot afford the added cost, a new survey says.

On Wednesday, Alignable, an online small business network, released a survey revealing that a startling 63% of small businesses cannot afford to hire more staff, even when new staff is needed. What’s worse, 10% of small businesses say they are actually laying off workers, a 6% increase from July.

Alignable states that labor is just one of several added costs — including rent increases, soaring inflation, and rising energy prices — that could jeopardize the solvency of many small businesses. Sadly, nearly half of all small business owners — 47% — reported in the survey that “their businesses are at risk of closing by fall 2022, unless economic conditions improve significantly.”