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

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 9, 2025—From John Kabateck, state director for NFIB in California, on release today of the latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index showing a rise of 0.5 points in August to 100.8, nearly 3 points above the 52-year average of 98. Of the 10 Optimism Index components, four increased, four decreased, and two were unchanged. The increase in those expecting real sales to be higher contributed the most to the rise in the Optimism Index.

“We’re starting to see some consistently good readings from the Small Business Optimism Index, after living through 34 consecutive months, up to November of last year, of it dwelling below the Index’s 52-year average. I’m a bit apprehensive about saying we’ve finally turned a corner, but the trend is encouraging. There will always be the heavy hand of California’s tax and regulatory system holding back small businesses’ ability to really soar, but there were a couple of encouraging initiatives to come out of the Legislature this year, such as California Environmental Quality Act reform.”

NFIB’s monthly Small Business Optimism Index is the gold standard measurement of America’s small business economy. Used by the Federal Reserve, Congressional leaders, administration officials, and state legislatures across the nation, it’s regarded as the bellwether on the health and welfare of the Main Street enterprises that employ half of all workers, generate more net new jobs than large corporations, and gave most of us the first start in our working life. The Optimism Index (aka Small Business Economic Trends report) is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs between one and nine people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“Optimism increased slightly in August with more owners reporting stronger sales expectations and improved earnings. While owners have cited an improvement in overall business health, labor quality remained the top issue on Main Street.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

• In August, there was a notable improvement in overall business health. When asked to rate the overall health of their business, 14% reported excellent (up 1 point), and 54% reported it as good (up 2 points). Twenty-seven percent reported the health of their business as fair (down 4 points), and 4% reported poor (unchanged).
• The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as the single most important problem for their business remained at 21%, continuing to rank as the top problem.
• In August, 32% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down 1 point from July. The last time unfilled job openings fell below 32% was in July 2020.
• The net percent of owners raising average selling prices fell 3 points from July to a net 21% (seasonally adjusted), the lowest reading of this year.

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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