A somewhat weaker report for small business sentiment in March against expectations (88.5 vs 90.2 expected) This time is mostly due to deterioration in hard components that have become weaker.
“Small business optimism has reached the lowest level since 2012 as owners continue to manage numerous economic headwinds,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg . “Inflation has once again been reported as the top business problem on Main Street and the labor market has only eased slightly.”
- Thirty-seven percent reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, unchanged from February and the lowest reading since January 2021.
- The net percent of owners raising average selling prices rose 7 points from February to a net 28 percent. Unadjusted, 13 percent (down 3 points) reported lower average selling prices and 43 percent (up 6 points) reported higher average prices.
- A net negative 10 percent reported higher nominal sales in the past three months, up 3 points from February. The net percent of owners expecting higher real sales volumes deteriorated 8 points to a net negative 18 percent
Inflation is still their biggest problem, poor sales have started to increase but still low, and labor issues are easing.
