Small business owners were not sure about the future in February, when they continued to deal with inflation and employment challenges.
The optimism index in the National Optimism Union decreased by 2.1 points in February to 100.7, slightly less than economists’ expectations for reading 101, according to Bloomberg data.
This reading celebrated the fourth consecutive month held by the index over its 51 -year -old average, which is 98, but it is a decrease from the post -election rise of 105.1 in December.
“The uncertainty is high and escalating in the main street, and for many reasons,” said Bill Dunkelberg and Huli Wadi in the report. “How future developments are resolved will form the future of the economy.”
A report on Tuesday showed that 7 out of 10 components of the index have decreased, led by a loss of 10 points from owners who expect better market conditions in the next six months. Meanwhile, the NFIB uncertain index rose four points to 104, reaching a record level in February.
Among the owners who reported a decrease in profits, 40 % blame the sales of weakest, 11 % said that the decrease is due to employment costs, and 9 % indicated that the costs of materials have increased.
About 16 % of the owners reported that inflation was a big dilemma weighing their business.
“Inflation continues to be a big problem, as it ranked second behind the upper problem and the quality of work,” added Dunkeberg.
As a result, 32 % of business owners raised the average selling prices, according to the report, which represents the largest monthly increase since April 2021 and a third higher in the scanning date. And 29 % plan to raise prices in the next three months.
The Labor Party is still the highest headache, with 38 % of all small business owners for job opportunities that they were unable to fill in February, which represents the highest reading since August 2024. The
It is worth noting that the report did not refer to the customs tariff, which was the great anxiety of the stock market during the past few weeks, as these new duties enter at a time when the broader economy shows some signs of weakness.
Read more: What does Trump’s tariff mean for the economy and your wallet?
In a research note on Monday, for example, economists in Goldman Sachs, led by Jean Hatzius, cut their expectations for 2025 to 1.7 % of 2.4 %.
The company wrote: “The reason for the reduction is that our commercial policy assumptions have become much more negative,” the company wrote.
Danny Romero is a correspondent of Yahoo financing. Follow it on x Daniromerotv.
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