Optimism among U.S. small-business owners fell in August to the lowest level in five months, with the outlook for the economy and sales slumping.
The 1.6-point decline to 103.1 in the National Federation of Independent Business’ index resulted from weaker expectations for businesses and sales, according to today’s published report. The reading was below the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Economists are watching indicators of business and consumer sentiment for signs that the tariff war and manufacturing slowdown will affect growth more broadly. Such indicators have been mixed in recent weeks.
“Uncertainty increasingly is a problem,” NFIB Chief Executive Officer Juanita Duggan says. “Normally in this survey when you ask our small business owners, are you going to invest, they usually say ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ But when they start to say ‘I don’t know,’ that tells us they don’t know what to expect.”
Even with the decline, the NFIB gauge remains elevated by historical standards, though it’s below the average level since 2016. Read the full story.
