The largest drop in small business confidence since the start of the pandemic is being driven not by concerns about spreading COVID-19, but concerns over record inflation. The future doesn’t look great.

Tom Sullivan, vice president of small business policy with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said while the pandemic mitigations were among the leading concerns this time last year, things have changed.

“Is the pandemic there or not, if it is, it’s hidden pretty deeply behind this massive thing called inflation which is front of mind for every business owner,” Sullivan told The Center Square.

The Chamber and MetLife released their third quarter Small Business Index Wednesday. The index dropped from 66.8 in the previous quarter to 62.1 in the third quarter. That’s the largest drop since it plummeted more than two years ago at the start of the pandemic.