Small business owners are not feeling optimistic about the current economic environment as they continue to feel the impact of inflation and hiring struggles, according to a new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business. In October, the NFIB's Optimism Index was 90.7 points – a 0.1-point drop from September – marking the 22nd consecutive month below the index's 50-year average of 98. The last time the index was at that average was in December 2021.
"The October data shows that small businesses are still recovering, and owners are not optimistic about better business conditions. Small business owners are not growing their inventories as labor and energy costs are not falling, making it a gloomy outlook for the remainder of the year," NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a news release. The survey revealed that 22% of small business owners reported their single most important problem to be inflation, down one point from Septembe