As the stock market soars to record levels, small-business owners remain pessimistic—but slightly less so, according to the April Index of Small Business Optimism released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The April index shows that optimism rose 2.6 points from March, to 92.1 in April, on a scale in which 100 represents the level of optimism among small-business owners in 1986 and 90.7 is the average score during the recent recovery.
A net 6 percent of respondents reported having plans to increase employment, and 49 percent said they have hired to tried to hire within the past three months. However, only 4 percent said that this is a good time to expand their business.
Thirty-one percent of respondents said all their credit needs are being met, and only 6 percent reported that their credit needs are not met. Exactly half of all respondents said they do not want a loan, while 13 percent didn't answer that question.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to Treasury & Risk, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited Treasury & Risk content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Thought leadership on regulatory changes, economic trends, corporate success stories, and tactical solutions for treasurers, CFOs, risk managers, controllers, and other finance professionals
- Informative weekly newsletter featuring news, analysis, real-world case studies, and other critical content
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
