California Comment on Latest Small Business Optimism Index

April 11, 2023 Last Edit: March 19, 2026

California Comment on Latest Small Business Optimism Index

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., April 11, 2023—Today’s release of NFIB’s latest Small Business Optimism Index, the nation’s bellwether measurement of its Main Street economy, shows mom-and-pop enterprises still getting no full recovery traction—a situation California consistently exacerbates with its regulations, according to the state director of the association. “This is the 15th consecutive month our Index has been below its 49-year average,” said John Kabateck, California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), “making it a safe but sad bet to call it the new normal. Although the Index is a national poll, it doesn’t take a leap of imagination to say small businesses in California arguably have it even worse given our Legislature’s continually hitting them with more leave-time mandates, tax increases, and other regulatory gut punches, a sample of which you can find on our Good, Bad and Ugly list of bills.” 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. From NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg “Small business owners are cynical about future economic conditions. Hiring plans fell to their lowest level since May 2020, but strong consumer spending has kept Main Street alive and supported strong labor demand.” Key Findings of Today’s Optimism Index

Forty-three percent of owners reported job openings that were hard to fill.
Twenty-six percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 27% reported none.
The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher deteriorated six points from February to a net negative 15%.

Keep up with the latest on California small-business news at www.nfib.com/california or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CA or on Facebook @NFIB.CA. ### For nearly 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 its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com. NFIB California 915 L. Street, Suite C-411 Sacramento, CA 95814 916-448-9904 www.nfib.com/CA Twitter: @NFIB_CA Facebook: @NFIB.CA