Small Business Owners Not Expecting Better Business Conditions

By: Kerry Pipes
Published: May 17th, 2022

Small business owner optimism is at a 48-year low and inflation is the “single most important problem,” owners face, according to the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index.

The index remained at 93.2 for the month of April and marked the fourth consecutive month below the 48-year average of 98. Small business owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months decreased one point to a net negative 50%, the lowest level recorded in the 48-year-old survey. Click here to read the full report.

One third (32%) of small business owners reported inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, the highest reading since the fourth quarter of 1980.

“Small business owners are struggling to deal with inflation pressures,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The labor supply is not responding strongly to small businesses’ high wage offers and the impact of inflation has significantly disrupted business operations.”

Other key findings from the survey:

• Forty-seven percent of owners reported job openings that could not be filled, unchanged from March. 
• The net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased two points to a net 70% (seasonally adjusted), two points below last month’s highest reading.
• The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher increased six points from March to a net negative 12%.

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