FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, Tony.Gagliardi@nfib.org
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, Anthony.Malandra@nfib.org

DENVER, Jan. 9, 2024—Twenty-four consecutive months. That’s how long the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) monthly Small Business Optimism Index, the latest of which was released today, has been below its 50-year average.

But that’s not all.

Starting on the first of this year, small business owners had to start complying with the new federal beneficial ownership reporting requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act. Add to that intractable problems of inflation and an inability to find qualified workers, and tomorrow (January 10), those regulation-promulgating quickdraws of the Colorado General Assembly return for business.

“We’re not holding our breath for this to happen, but Gov. Jared Polis could really win some high praise from the small business owners of our state were he, during his state-of-the-state speech, to draw a line against any more regulations,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for NFIB.

“I don’t think there’s ever been a time when the government has demanded so much paperwork from the people who are the engine of our economy than it’s doing now at the state and federal levels,” said Gagliardi, who outlined some of the negative initiatives that could surface in the 2024 session in this guest editorial.

Today’s Optimism Index found 22% of small business owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business, up one point from last month, and replacing labor quality as the top concern. Other key findings include:

• Small business owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months increased six points from November to a net negative 36% (seasonally adjusted), and 25 percentage points better than last June’s reading of a net negative 61%.

• Seasonally adjusted, a net 29% of owners plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down one point from November.

• The net percent of owners raising average selling prices was unchanged from November at a net 25% (seasonally adjusted).

• The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher increased four points from November to a net negative 4% (seasonally adjusted), the highest reading since January 2022.

“Small business owners remain very pessimistic about economic prospects this year,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Inflation and labor quality have consistently been a tough complication for small business owners, and they are not convinced that it will get better in 2024.”

Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/CO and on Twitter @NFIB_CO

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For 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.

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