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Labor quality and inflation helped drive down NFIB’s Optimism Index once again. The Index dropped 1.1 points in April to 89, marking the 16th consecutive month below the survey’s 49-year history of 98.
“Optimism is not improving on Main Street as more owners struggle with finding qualified workers for their open positions,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Inflation remains a top concern for small businesses but is showing signs of easing.”
Labor quality was the top business problem at 24%, followed by inflation at 23%.
Other key findings from the April report:
-The frequency of reports of positive profit trends was a net negative 23%, five points worse than March.
-A net negative 5% of owners viewed current inventory stocks as “too low” in April, down six points from March. This suggests stocks are now too large relative to expected sales.
-The net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased four points to a net 33% (seasonally adjusted).
-The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher deteriorated four points from March to a net negative 19%.