Small businesses are seeing record-level profit growth, according to a survey from the National Federation of Independent Business.
The NFIB small business optimism index, based off self-reported data from its 325,000 members, sustained high levels through April that were driven by the highest ever reports of improved profits in the survey’s 45-year history.
“Never in the history of this survey have we seen profit trends so high,” says NFIB President and CEO Juanita Duggan in a news release. “The optimism small businesses owners have about the economy is turning into new job creation, increased wages and benefits, and investment.”
On top of high profits and confidence in the economy, fewer small businesses reported poor sales in April than in months past, NFIB says.
NFIB State Director Dawn Starns says NFIB members in Louisiana were preparing to hire new staff and replace old equipment last month, a sign they feel confident in the economy.
More than half of the businesses surveyed reported they were planning capital outlays in the upcoming months, while 43% of businesses report spending on new equipment and 27% are buying vehicles.
Finding workers is still a struggle for small business owners, and one in five business owners reported recruiting capable employees as their biggest problem.
