(THE CENTER SQUARE) – Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose continues to blame Washington for the state’s slowing trend of new business startups.

LaRose said the number of new business filings in July was the lowest point of growth in the last six months, along with a 16% decrease from July 2021 and a 12% fall from June 2022.

In a news release, LaRose pointed to the National Federal of Independent Business’ small business optimism index that also reached its sixth straight month below a 48-year average.

That survey showed small businesses around the country believe inflation is the biggest problem facing businesses. The index rose 0.4 points to 89.9 but remained below the average of 98.

“The uncertainty in the small-business sector is climbing again as owners continue to manage historic inflation, labor shortages and supply chain disruptions,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said. “As we move into the second half of 2022, owners will continue to manage their businesses into a very uncertain future.”

Thirty-seven percent of small-business owners said inflation was the single most important problem in operating their business. At the same time, expectations of better conditions over the next sixth months increased by nine points, and nearly half of owners said they could not fill jobs.

“Each month that goes by with economic instability, entrepreneurs lose more faith,” LaRose said. “Although Washington continues to send a message that they are not interested in supporting small businesses, Ohio will continue to break down barriers to innovation and economic freedom. We will never abandon our entrepreneurs.”

New business creation in Ohio set records in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with 197,010 new business filings coming in 2021.

So far, 107,859 new businesses have been created in Ohio in 2022, averaging 15,408 per month.