Perspectives that inform the middle market

In partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, we've collected data on middle market firms since 2015 through quarterly surveys conducted by The Harris Poll. 

The RSM US Middle Market Business Index provides a leading measure on the performance of businesses that make up the heart and soul of our country's economy.

Conducted quarterly using a panel of 700 middle market executives, the MMBI is designed to accurately reflect economic conditions in the middle market.

Three years after the start of the pandemic, remote work is becoming a permanent fixture among American middle market businesses, according to a recent survey from RSM US LLP.

What began out of necessity early in the pandemic has become a preference—and middle market businesses, desperate to attract and retain employees, are going along

In the fourth quarter, 33% of middle market executives responding to the RSM survey reported having employees working remotely due to COVID-19 who were not doing so before.

The 2023 RSM US Middle Market Business Index Cybersecurity Special Report leverages data from over 400 senior executives of middle market companies, detailing their cybersecurity and privacy challenges, the frequency and severity of attacks, and ongoing concerns. It provides a glimpse into how the largest segment of the U.S. economy is implementing controls and strategies to address security threats, fighting back against cybercriminals and preparing for what’s next.

More than two years into the global pandemic, supply chain snarls persist for a large portion of middle market American businesses, with smaller midsize firms in many respects bearing a significant amount of the pain, according to proprietary data from RSM US LLP—and companies continue to pivot accordingly. 

The growing importance of environmental, social and governance issues has reached an inflection point in the middle market, even in the face of the dramatic economic fluctuations of the past year and a half. Stakeholders’ increased focus on ESG will continue to present immense business opportunities for middle market organizations that position themselves to adapt to these shifting priorities.

After decades of watching America’s infrastructure decline, senior executives at middle market businesses are pushing to fix the nation’s basic systems. In a striking shift in outlook captured in RSM’s proprietary data, executives at midsize companies agree that the state of the nation’s infrastructure is hampering economic growth, not only at the national and local levels, but within their own organizations as well.

Technology is evolving, fast-paced and changing how companies do business. Artificial intelligence has the attention of company leaders, and cybersecurity concerns are driving investments in technology, according to data from the second-quarter RSM US Middle Market Business Index survey, which polled executives from April 3–24, 2023.

The survey reveals that for company leaders, digital transformation is more than just upgrades or new platforms. Digital transformation can alter an organization’s trajectory and affect whether the company succeeds or fails.

As the era of easy money and low-cost financing ends, middle market businesses are facing a reckoning. 

Rising real interest rates are pushing up the cost of commercial and industrial loans, making it harder for these firms to meet payrolls and finance their expansion, according to findings in the third-quarter RSM US Middle Market Business Index survey. The result is a risk to economic growth across the real economy and, potentially, a recession.