Global| Mar 13 2012U.S. Small Business Optimism Nears Recovery High
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that its February index of small business optimism was 94.3 versus 93.9 in January. The latest was the highest in a year and the best since December 2007. The percentage of [...]
The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that its February index of small business optimism was 94.3 versus 93.9 in January. The latest was the highest in a year and the best since December 2007. The percentage of firms expecting higher real sales in six months rose to its highest in a year though those indicating that now is a good time to expand the business slipped from its recent high. Offsetting these improvements was a third consecutive decline in the percent of firms planning to raise employment. The percentage of firms raising average selling prices remained near zero but those planning to raise prices has been rising.
The most important problems faced by small business were poor sales (by a greatly lessened 22%), government requirements (21%, the highest since 1996), taxes (21%), inflation (a rising 9%), insurance cost & availability (7%), competition from large businesses (5%), quality of labor (5%), financial & interest rates (4%) and the cost of labor (3%).
Roughly 24 million small businesses exist in the U.S. and they create 80% of all new jobs. The NFIB figures can be found in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| National Federation of Independent Business | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb'11 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Optimism Index (SA,1986=100) | 94.3 | 93.9 | 93.8 | 94.5 | 91.4 | 89.9 | 86.7 |
| Firms Expecting Higher Real Sales In Six Months (Net %) | 12 | 10 | 9 | 14 | 3 | 1 | -11 |
| Firms Expecting Economy To Improve (Net %) | -6 | -3 | -8 | 9 | -9 | -1 | -0 |
| Firms With One or More Job Openings (Net %) | 17 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 10 | 9 |
| Firms With Few or No Qualified Applicant For Job Openings (Net %) | 31 | 31 | 34 | 30 | 32 | 27 | -- |
| Firms Reporting That Credit Was Harder To Get (Net %) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
| Firms Raising Avg. Selling Prices (Net %) | 1 | -1 | 0 | 5 | 5 | -12 | -20 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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