Idaho doing its part to help sustain 16 months of small-business optimism
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Budge, Idaho State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
BOISE, Idaho, April 11, 2018—One of the nation’s most highly regarded economic barometers, released yesterday, once again showed continued optimism among the people at the heart of every economy in the world: Small-business owners. An optimism the Idaho state director of America’s voice of small business said Idaho’s Legislature and governor can take a little bit of credit for.
As it does the second Tuesday of every month, the National Federation of Independent Business, America’s Voice of Small Business, released its Index of Small Business Optimism yesterday morning, which measures the pulse of the nation’s largest employer group—Main Street entrepreneurs. The NFIB Research Foundation has collected Small Business Economic Trends data since 1973. Survey respondents are drawn from NFIB’s membership nationally. For 45 years, NFIB’s Index of Small Business Optimism has been one of the nation’s bellwether economic barometers, used by the Federal Reserve, congressional leaders, presidential administrations, and state legislators and governors. A one-page history of the SBET can be read here.
“Although our Index of Small Business Optimism is national in its measurement and doesn’t break results down by state, I believe Idaho’s Legislature and Gov. Butch Otter can take a little credit for helping sustain an impressive run of the sunny outlook Main Street entrepreneurs continue to have,” said Suzanne Budge, Idaho state director for the National Federation of Independent Business. “They stepped in to smooth the alignment with the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by cutting state income taxes on every rate and on every level, they cushioned the blow at the loss of the dependent deduction, and they passed reductions in unemployment insurance taxes. All of their work will have an immense, positive impact on business expansion and job creation.”
Commenting on its national implication, Juanita Duggan, president and CEO of NFIB, said, “It has been a remarkable 16 months for small business optimism. This is the first time in 35 years where the fewest number of small business owners have told us that taxes are their number one business problem. They’ve been so optimistic that they feel confident enough to raise wages and invest in their business, which grows the economy.”
Said Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist, “Although expected sales and expected business conditions posted large declines, it was from historically high levels and this still left the overall Index reading among the 20 best in survey history. Hiring and spending on new buildings and land acquisition remained at strong levels, a good sign of confidence in economic prospects.”
NFIB’s national news release with more information on the Optimism Index can be read here.
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Celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2018, the National Federation of Independent Business has been the Voice of Small Business, taking the message from Main Street to the halls of Congress and all 50 state legislatures. NFIB annually surveys its members on state and federal issues vital to their survival as America’s economic engine and biggest creator of jobs. NFIB’s educational mission is to remind policymakers that small businesses are not smaller versions of bigger businesses; they have very different challenges and priorities.
National Federation of Independent Business/Idaho
802 W. Bannock, Ste. 301
Boise, ID 83702
208-345-6632
www.nfib.com/idaho
Twitter: NFIB_ID
