NFIB’s (National Federation of Independent Business) Small Business Optimism Index fell by 2.3 points in January to 102.8. This is the third consecutive month above the 51-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index rose 14 points to 100 — the third highest recorded reading — after two months of decline. As reported in NFIB’s monthly jobs report, a seasonally adjusted 35 percent of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in January, unchanged from December. Of the 52 percent of owners hiring or trying to hire in January, 90 percent reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.
Other key findings: The net percent of owners expecting the economy to improve fell five points from December to a net 47 percent (seasonally adjusted); 18 percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, down two points from December and matching labor quality as the top issue (the last time it was this low was in November 2021); Net percent of owners raising average selling prices fell two points from December to a net 22 percent (seasonally adjusted).
