Small Business Optimism Remained Low in September

The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose by 0.3 points in September to 91.5.

“Small business owners are feeling more uncertain than ever,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist for NFIB. “Uncertainty makes owners hesitant to invest in capital spending and inventory, especially as inflation and financing costs continue to put pressure on their bottom lines. Although some hope lies ahead in the holiday sales season, many Main Street owners are left questioning whether future business conditions will improve.”

Key findings include:

  • Thirty-four percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down six points from August and the lowest reading since January 2021.
  • Seasonally adjusted, a net 32 percent reported raising compensation, down one point from August and remaining the lowest reading since April 2021.
  • Twenty-three percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business (higher input and labor costs), down one point from August but remaining the top issue.

As reported in NFIB’s monthly jobs report, a seasonally adjusted 34 percent of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in their current period, down six points from August and the lowest reading since January 2021. Of the 59 percent of owners hiring or trying to hire in September, 90 percent reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.

Seasonally adjusted, a net 32 percent reported raising compensation, down one point from August and remaining and the lowest reading since April 2021. A seasonally adjusted net 23 percent plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up three points from August. Nine percent of owners cited labor costs as their top business problem, unchanged from August and only four points below the highest reading of 13 percent reached in December 2021. Seventeen percent said that labor quality was their top business problem, remaining behind inflation as the number one issue.

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