Tiny Uptick in National Measurement of Small Business Economy

August 8, 2023

Tiny Uptick in National Measurement of Small Business Economy

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, 303-325-6243, tony.gagliardi@nfib.org, or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, 415-640-5156, anthony.malandra@nfib.org DENVER, Aug. 8, 2023—In what is shaping up to be the new normal, the nation’s bellwether measurement of its Main Street economy released today showed tiny improvements but nothing close to reversing its two years’ slide. “I’ve got some good news, and I got some bad news,” said Tony Gagliardi, Colorado state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which produces the monthly Small Business Economic Trends report (SBET), also known as the Optimism Index. “Yes, small business optimism is up a tick. The bad news is small business owners remain short on employees. Is it time for states to increase their assistance in skilled trades training? Colorado is going so far as to increase available assistance to businesses that want to offer employee stock ownership opportunities. Will this effort assist small businesses with more qualified applicants and provide some surety for future succession planning for employers? Time will tell.” The SBET (Optimism Index) is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs between one and nine workers. This latest Index rose 0.9 points in July to 91.9, but it marked the 19th consecutive month below the survey’s 49-year average of 98. The SBET is released the second Tuesday of every month. A brief history of it can be read here. From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg “With small business owners’ views about future sales growth and business conditions dismal, owners want to hire and make money now from solid consumer spending. Inflation has eased slightly on Main Street, but difficulty hiring remains a top business concern.” Highlights from today’s report

Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months improved 10 points from June to a net negative 30%, 31 percentage points better than last June’s reading of a net negative 61%. This is the highest reading since August 2021 but historically very negative.

Forty-two percent of owners reported job openings that were hard to fill, unchanged from June but remaining historically very high.

The net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased four points to a net 25% seasonally adjusted, still a very inflationary level but trending down. This is the lowest reading since January 2021.

The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher improved two points from June to a net negative 12%, a very pessimistic perspective.

Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO ### 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. NFIB Colorado 1700 Lincoln Street, 17th Floor Denver, CO 80203 303-860-1778 www.nfib.com/colorado Twitter: @NFIB_CO Facebook: NFIB.CO