Small business owners’ optimism failed to improve in September, instead remaining at recession levels, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
The NFIB’s monthly Small Business Optimism Index slipped 0.1 points to 92.8. That means optimism failed to build on an increase in August, when the index moved up 1.7 points.
September marks the 32nd time since June of 2009 the Small Business Optimism Index registered below 93. It has only slotted in below that point a total of 56 times since 1986, which is when the NFIB began taking the reading monthly.
Declining plans to hire ate away at the most recent index reading. The net percentage of small businesses planning to hire in the next three months dropped six points to a net 4 percent, seasonally adjusted.
“I think small business owners are watching what’s going on with the presidential election,” says NFIB New York State Director Mike Durant. “Being a small business owner means uncertain times are the norm. But I think with the election, with our economy stagnant at best, and potentially with the implementation of the Affordable Care Act in the future, a lot of businesses are looking at their bottom lines and are going to resist the urge to hire.”
The NFIB, which is a nonprofit organization with members in 50 states and Washington, D.C., randomly sampled 691 of its member small businesses to develop September’s optimism index.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com