The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose for a 23rd straight month in September and reached the third-highest level in the survey’s 45-year history.
The small and independent business advocacy group says its index was at 107.9 last month. While state-specific data is unavailable, NFIB notes 2018 has produced record high measures of job openings, hiring plans, job creation, compensation increases, profit growth and inventory investment.
“I think entrepreneurs are more comfortable when it comes to investing in new jobs and equipment and even locations because they aren’t as worried about the federal government coming in and changing the rules by raising taxes or imposing new rules and regulations,” NFIB Louisiana Director Dawn Starns says in a prepared statement.
NFIB says the September survey shows: Capital spending in the past few months rose significantly; average employment change per firm was solid; owners bulked up inventories; and compensation increases set a new record.
Actual investment spending improved as prospects for the economy remain strong. Sixty percent of owners reported capital outlays, up four points from August. Of those making expenditures, 41% reported spending on new equipment (up two points), 26% acquired vehicles (up four points), and 16%improved or expanded facilities (down two points).
Sixty-one percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire, with 87% of those reporting few or no qualified workers. Thirty-eight percent of owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, unchanged from last month.
