FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Kabateck, California State Director, john.kabateck@nfib.org
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 15, 2026—Comment from John Kabateck, state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in California, on yesterday’s release of the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, showing it rising 2.1 points in June to 97.4, nearing its 52-year average of 98.0.

“Glad to see a ray of sunshine peeking through some of the cloudy past survey results but given what our California-specific Optimism Index revealed last week, we have to wonder if this is just an aberration. What is clear, however, is California must become less of a regulatory nightmare for small business owners. But facing an August 31 legislative adjournment date, we’re not expecting any reversal of direction anytime soon.”

Kabateck and NFIB California Leadership Council Member Sunder Ramani elaborated on the California Optimism Index in this 3-minute interview on KNX NewsRadio in Los Angeles,

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg on the June SBET

“Current economic conditions present small business owners with both encouraging developments and ongoing challenges. Lower fuel costs provide welcome relief for businesses as well as consumers, with firms anticipating improved operating conditions over the next six months. While there have been improvements in the overall environment, high interest rates and modest economic growth are causing owners to approach hiring and capital spending with caution.”

Highlights from the June SBET Include:

• Expectations for better business conditions and real sales expectations improved substantially and primarily drove the rise in the Index.
• The Uncertainty Index fell 2 points from May to 89, remaining well above its historical average of 68.
• Job openings and hiring plans rebounded in June. Thirty-two percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period (up 3 points), and a seasonally adjusted net 11% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months (up 2 points). The improvement can be seen as a correction from May’s decline.
• Twenty-one percent of business owners cited inflation as their single most important business problem, up 3 points from May and marking the highest reading since October 2024. Inflation ranks as the top problem.

The NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends Data with Quarterly surveys since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. The sample is drawn from the membership files of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Keep up with the latest California small-business news at www.nfib.com. Follow us on X @NFIB_CA and on Facebook @NFIB.CA.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

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