Pessimistic. Downcast. Depressed. These are all terms used recently to describe small-business owners’ outlook on the nation’s economic climate.
Well, brace yourself for more of the same. Sentiment didn’t come with a more positive list of vocabulary words in February.
The National Federation of Independent Business reports its Small Business Optimism Index lost 1.3 points last month, slipping to 88.0.
The NFIB is blaming government.
“News about the economy is for the most part improving, and therefore is an unlikely source of small business uncertainty and declining optimism,” said Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist. “The Washington, D.C. agenda, on the other hand, remains a nightmare for small business owners and continues to be a real factor in small business owners not expecting business conditions to improve,”
Know a small business you think we should write about? Contact Herald writer Amy Rolph at arolph@heraldnet.com.
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