Oct 11 (Reuters) – U.S. small business confidence improved in September as labor shortages eased slightly, but inflation concerns remained and fewer owners were optimistic about the outlook for the economy, a survey showed on Tuesday.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its Small Business Optimism Index rose 0.3 points to 92.1 this month, the second straight month of gains after a deterioration in the first half of this year.
Thirty percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important issue in operating their business, up one point from August but down seven points from July’s reading, which was the highest percentage since the quarter of the fourth of 1979.
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The US Federal Reserve has raised interest rates from near zero earlier this year to a current range of 3.00% to 3.25% as it struggles to quell stubbornly high inflation. Fed policymakers, who are expected to deliver another 75 basis point hike at the central bank’s next meeting in November, have warned of economic pain as they seek to curb demand to help curb rising prices.
The share of landlords expecting better business conditions over the next six months fell two points last month from August to 44%, well above the pre-pandemic trend, even as the NFIB Uncertainty Index fell two points to 72 in September.
The survey also showed that 46% of employers reported jobs they could not fill last month, down three points from August. That’s consistent with government data released last week that showed 10.1 million jobs on the last day of August, still a record high but the biggest drop in nearly 2-1/2 years.
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Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir, Editing by Ed Osmond
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
