SMALL BUSINESSES REMAIN BEST REFLECTION OF WEAK ECONOMY
Courtesy of The Pragmatic Capitalist
The National Federation of Independent Business continues to report a very weak economic environment for small businesses. The NFIB’s small index optimism index improved this month, but the outlook for the economy remains very tepid. William C. Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist says the economy remains very weak:
“The performance of the economy is mediocre at best. Given the extent of the decline over the past two years, pent up demand should be immense, but it is not triggering a rapid pickup in economic activity. “Compared to past recoveries, it is clear that the current economic recovery has not impacted the expectations of small business owners. They do not trust the economic policies in place or proposed and are distressed by global and national developments that make the future more uncertain.”
The outlook index remains just shy of its lows:
This is having a direct impact on employment as small businesses remain hesitant to ramp up hiring. The index actually declined for the month as small businesses continue to shed jobs:
Source: NFIB
