Small Biz Optimism On The Rise
Despite weak customer demand, small businesses were slightly more optimistic in October than they were in the previous month, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses Index of Small Business Optimism.
The index hit 91.7, "still in recession territory," the NFIB said, but up 2.7 points from September. The increase could signal that small businesses are "anticipating acceleration in economic activity."
Employment growth was zero for the month, but still better than it's been in recent years, when all but two quarters saw job losses.
About 47 percent of small businesses said they made capital expenditures in the last six months, a 3-percentage-point increase.
But customer demand is weak. The percentage of all small business owners reporting higher sales in the past three months was down 13 percent. That's still 20 points better than May 2009, when NFIB says the economy hit bottom for small businesses.
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