News

Business confidence headed upward but slow to grow

Business report is not hugely optimistic, but there are comforting trends ahead.

August 11, 2015

It’s not the rosiest scenario ahead, but there is an economic uptick in the small-business sector, with gains in hiring, reveals a National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report.

The NFIB’s small-business optimism index for July increased 1.3 points compared to June, according to a 247WallSt. report. Yet, that figure is two points down from the average July figure and five points down compared to December 2014.

However, there is good news, as more jobs are being created, with openings increasing a point to hit 25 percent, and the job-creation component of the index, overall, increased 12 percent. A healthy number, 15 percent, of small-business owners are also hoping to boost employee pay in the next few months.

"With small-business accounting for half of the private GDP, prospects for a strong second half of growth seem modest at best" stated the NFID in its report. "The Large Firm division will be coasting, not growing or investing, and the Small Business division is not in the mood for rapid expansion and hiring. But even so, the economy grows driven by population growth and investment to cover depreciation and technological obsolescence, but not a lot more."

The top complaint from business owners is the amount of taxes, followed closely by regulations and labor quality. The least important issues cited by small businesses are inflation and financing rates.