Optimism on Main Street rose in February for the first time in nearly half a year, according to new survey data by the right-leaning National Federation of Independent Business, but the rebound is slight — higher than January's reading by just a half point.
The details: The most small business owners since 2017 reported weak profits, with 41% citing fewer sales, thanks to a more cautious consumer.
- The NFIB blamed lingering effects of the government shutdown for tepid small business sales. "Earnings trends weakened as a million laid off workers and others affected by the shutdown cut back on spending. The reductions in sales fell immediately to the bottom line," the organization said in a press release.
- The economy added only 20,000 new jobs last month, while outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that businesses cut the most jobs in over 3 years in February.
One bright spot: Overall expectations that the economy and business conditions would improve were higher as compared to last month.