DES MOINES (May 12, 2022) — The NFIB, or National Federation of Independent Business’ Small Business Optimism Index was unchanged in April, remaining at 93.2 and the fourth consecutive month below the 48-year average of 98. Small business owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months decreased one point to a net negative 50%, the lowest level recorded in the 48-year-old survey.
Inflation continues to be a problem for small businesses with 32% of small-business owners reporting it’s their single most important problem in operating their business, the highest reading since the fourth quarter of 1980.
Here in Iowa, NFIB has more than 11,000 members who are small-business owners.
NFIB State Director Matt Everson said, “Small-business owners are resilient, but supply-chain disruptions and a jump in fuel prices continue to drive up costs and put enormous pressure on mom-and-pop shops and job creators here in Iowa. While the legislature and the governor has done a great job of keeping our state open for business and lowering taxes, this sends a clear message that small business owners are still struggling to recover from the pandemic.”
Key findings include:
- Forty-seven percent of owners reported job openings that could not be filled, unchanged from March;
- The net percent of owners raising average selling prices decreased two points to a net 70% (seasonally adjusted), two points below last month’s highest reading; and
- The net percent of owners who expect real sales to be higher increased six points from March to a net negative 12%.
As reported in NFIB’s monthly jobs report, small businesses continue to struggle to find workers to fill open positions with 47% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period. Of those hiring or trying to hire, 93% of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.
For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington DC and in all fifty state capitals. NFIB is non-profit, non-partisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
