Global| Apr 10 2018PUT NEW TT >>>U.S. Small Businesses Optimism Improves While Prices Increase
Summary
The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that its Small Business Optimism Index for February increased 0.7% to 107.6.............. Roughly 24 million small businesses exist in the U.S. and they create 80% of all new [...]
The National Federation of Independent Business indicated that its Small Business Optimism Index for February increased 0.7% to 107.6..............
Roughly 24 million small businesses exist in the U.S. and they create 80% of all new jobs. The index is based 1986=100). The typical NFIB member employs 10 people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year. The NFIB figures can be found in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| National Federation of Independent Business (SA, Net % of Firms) | Mar | Feb | Jan | Mar'17 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Business Optimism Index (1986=100) | 104.7 | 107.6 | 106.9 | 105.3 | 104.9 | 95.3 | 96.1 |
| Firms Expecting Economy To Improve | 37 | 43 | 41 | 47 | 39 | -5 | -5 |
| Firms Expecting Higher Real Sales | 28 | 28 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 5 | 8 |
| Firms Reporting Now is a Good Time To Expand the Business | 27 | 32 | 32 | 22 | 23 | 10 | 12 |
| Firms Planning to Increase Employment | 20 | 18 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 11 | 12 |
| Firms With Few or No Qualified Applicants For Job Openings (%) | 54 | 47 | 49 | 44 | 49 | 46 | 46 |
| Firms Reporting That Credit Was Harder To Get | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Firms Raising Average Selling Prices | 8 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 2 |
| Firms Raising Worker Compensation | 27 | 31 | 31 | 26 | 27 | 24 | 23 |
Gerald D. Cohen
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Gerald Cohen provides strategic vision and leadership of the translational economic research and policy initiatives at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.
He has worked in both the public and private sectors focusing on the intersection between financial markets and economic fundamentals. He was a Senior Economist at Haver Analytics from January 2019 to February 2021. During the Obama Administration Gerald was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Treasury where he helped formulate and evaluate the impact of policy proposals on the U.S. economy. Prior to Treasury, he co-managed a global macro fund at Ziff Brothers Investments.
Gerald holds a bachelor’s of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and is a contributing author to 30-Second Money as well as a co-author of Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy.
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