The nation’s small business owners are feeling slightly better about the economy.
That’s the message gathered by the National Federation of Independent Business in its closed watched survey of small business optimism that was released today.
The association’s index rose to 94.1 in Janu
ary, the highest reading since the official start of the recession in December 2007. The January reading is up 1.5 points from the previous month.
The group assessed the increase as modest and noted it remains well below historic levelts.
NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg was cautiously optimistic.
“While the economy is moving forward, albeit at a snail’s pace, it is not nearly fast enough to dramatically improve the unemployment situation, which continues to languish,” Dunkelberg said.
He said that manufacturing and exporting were leading the recovery, but noted that these are not labor-intensive sectors. Exports are an important part of the economy in Washington state.
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