Small business confidence fell in August and reversed the prior month's gains amid growing uncertainty ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election and expectations that sales will be sluggish. The National Federation of Independent Business said Tuesday that its Small Business Optimism Index dropped 2.5 points to 91.2 last month. That comes after it had surged in July to the highest reading since February 2022, though the August decline erased all of July's gain.
Labor market issues are persisting for small business owners, with 40% of owners reporting job openings they couldn't fill in August — up two percentage points from July. The survey found that 36% of small business owners have openings for skilled workers, an increase of 4 points, while 15% have openings for unskilled labor, a 1 point decline.