Small business optimism improved slightly in January, according to a report released by the National Federation of Independent Business on Tuesday, although the index of optimism remains at historically low levels in spite of the improvements in the economy in the second half of 2009.
The NFIB said its index of small business optimism edged up to a reading of 89.3 in January from a reading of 88.0 in December. The index is 8.3 points higher than the survey's second lowest reading reached in March 2009.
Despite the modest increase by the index, the NFIB said that optimism has clearly stalled, noting that the quarterly index readings have been below 90 for 7 quarters.
"Small business owners entered 2010 the same way they left 2009, depressed," said William Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist. "The biggest problem continues to be a shortage of customers."
On the employment front, the NFIB said 10 percent of small business owners said that they plan to reduce employment over the next three months, down 5 percentage points. Another 10 percent plan to create new jobs over the next three months, up 2 percentage points.
The NFIB said that this yields a seasonally adjusted net negative 1 percent of owners planning to create new jobs, a one-point improvement but still more firms planning to cut jobs than planning to add.
Improvement in the labor market has been lagging behind the recovery by the broader economy, raising concerns about the outlook for consumer spending and the sustainability of the recovery.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.