NFIB: Decreased Optimism, But Some Glimmers of Hope

A small decrease in the small business optimism index of 2.6 points reveals that small businesses are concerned about the future. This is reflected in generally low results in many areas of the survey:

• Recession-level lows in employment
• Recession-level lows in capital spending
• Decrease in business owners reporting increased sales
• Increase in owners reporting increased selling prices for goods and services

Still, several of these areas are showing some signs of hope:

• The "hard components" of optimism increased two points: job creation, job openings, capital spending plans and inventory plans.
• The number of business owners reporting capital outlays over the last six months increased 2 percent.
• Gains in profits and wages are the strongest since Q4 of 2008.

Overall, 93 percent of business owners reported that all their credit needs were met or that they were not interested in borrowing. Only eight percent reported financing was more difficult to get, a decrease of 3 points from last month. The NFIB report commented on small business credit:

Credit availability is not holding back loan growth, it is a lack of demand.

Read the report.