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Mandated Malaise

Go back to bed.  Your local business owners are.

Small-business owner confidence did not rebound in December, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index. While owner optimism crept up 0.5 over November’s historically-low report, the 88 point reading was still the second lowest since March 2010. December’s poor report resulted largely from a deterioration of labor market components, and the surprising percentage of owners who still expect business conditions to worsen in the next six months.

And why so glum?

The Index is at a recession level reading as pessimism prevails; December’s reading is certainly not typical during a recovery. Seventy (70) percent of owners surveyed characterized the current period as a bad time to expand; one in four of them cite political uncertainty as the top reason. Taxes (23 percent) and regulations (21 percent) rank as the top two business problems, with “poor sales” as a close third (19 percent).

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Mandated Malaise

Go back to bed.  Your local business owners are.

Small-business owner confidence did not rebound in December, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index. While owner optimism crept up 0.5 over November’s historically-low report, the 88 point reading was still the second lowest since March 2010. December’s poor report resulted largely from a deterioration of labor market components, and the surprising percentage of owners who still expect business conditions to worsen in the next six months.

And why so glum?

The Index is at a recession level reading as pessimism prevails; December’s reading is certainly not typical during a recovery. Seventy (70) percent of owners surveyed characterized the current period as a bad time to expand; one in four of them cite political uncertainty as the top reason. Taxes (23 percent) and regulations (21 percent) rank as the top two business problems, with “poor sales” as a close third (19 percent).