Small business owners soured on their prospects for the future during March, according to a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index dipped 1.8 points to 92.5 in March, ending six consecutive months of increases. The index remains higher than the 88.1 it notched in August of last year, the month before it started its six-month rise.
“There’s no real commitment in the recovery,” NFIB New York State Director Mike Durant said in a news release. “It’s still a very soft economy, and small business owners are unwilling to take risks, either in new workers or capital improvements, until they feel better about the direction.”
(Sponsored)
Time to Prepare for OSHA’s new “Walkaround Rule”
In a development consistent with President Biden‘s growing reputation as leading the most pro-union administration in history, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a rule allowing employees
Inflation and Insurance Rates: How to Offset the Impact
Many industries have been hit by inflation where it hurts the most, our pockets. Inflation is raising the price of goods and services including food, housing, transportation, and medical care.
March saw small business leaders slash plans for future hiring and pull back slightly from plans to increase capital expenditures, according to the NFIB.
Just one of the 10 components that make up the optimism index increased in March — satisfaction with current inventories, which edged up 1 percentage point to show a seasonally adjusted net 3 percent of survey respondents who were satisfied with their inventories.
The NFIB randomly sampled 757 of its members in March to develop the index.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
