SPANISH FORT, Ala. — At least one small-business advocacy group believes local residents should use the upcoming sales tax holiday to not only assist Alabama’s largest employer group but also speed the national economic recovery.

“Small business is what drives Alabama’s economy,” Rosemary Elebash, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, said in a press release touting the potential positive impact of Alabama’s Aug. 5-7 sales tax holiday.

According to the most recent figures available from the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses account for 97 percent of all Alabama employers and employ about half of the state’s private-sector workforce.

Moreover, the federation’s “Small Business Economic Trends Report” for July revealed weak sales continue to top the list of challenges small businesses face nationwide.

“The bottom line is that the more we can increase consumer spending at our small businesses, the more jobs we can save and create, and the faster our economy will see a real recovery,” she said.

The nonprofit Washington, D.C.-based NFIB was founded in 1943 to give small- and independent-business owners a “voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business.” A federation office operates in every state capital.

Emily Jones of Spanish Fort said the school supply and uniform lists for her two school-age children tend to make her head spin. The sales tax holiday might not seem like a huge savings, but every penny helps these days.

“Of course it helps. There’s no question. As long as you’re willing to fight the crowds out there gunning for the same things you are, money saved now means a little extra for that emergency project or shoes they outgrew overnight,” Jones said.

In its sixth year, Alabama’s holiday excludes “certain school supplies, computers and clothing” from state sales or use tax,” but it’s up to each municipality to determine if local taxes will be suspended as well. In early June, the Spanish Fort City Council unanimously approved an ordinance exempting approved items from the city’s 1.5-percent sales and use tax for the duration of the three-day holiday.

Broadly speaking, exempted items include all “human wearing apparel suitable for general use” that costs no more than $100 per item; certain computers and related equipment costing $750 or less per transaction; and school supplies costing less $50 or less per item.

For a specific — but not all-inclusive — list of exempted items, visit the Alabama Department of Revenue’s official website at www.ador.state.al.us.

Elebash hopes, however, that families will take the opportunity to not only “stretch a dollar” but help the local economy in the process.

“It’s going to put people in the mood to spend, and we’re hoping they’ll use this opportunity to support the local economy and shop at small businesses,” she said.