Small business owners soured on their prospects for the future during March, according to a monthly survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
NFIB’s Small Business Optimism Index dipped 1.8 points to 92.5 in March, ending six consecutive months of increases. The index remains higher than the 88.1 it notched in August of last year, the month before it started its six-month rise.
“There’s no real commitment in the recovery,” NFIB New York State Director Mike Durant said in a news release. “It’s still a very soft economy, and small business owners are unwilling to take risks, either in new workers or capital improvements, until they feel better about the direction.”
(Sponsored)
Year-End Benefits Check: Is Your Team Getting the BOOST They Deserve for 2026?
As we close out 2025 and finalize employee benefits for the coming year, there’s one question every small to medium-sized business owner should ask: Are your employees truly understanding—and maximizing—the
Franchising —Why JRECK Subs Is a Smart Choice
Franchising is a business model that allows individuals to own and operate a location of an established brand. As a franchisee, you get the benefits of running your own business
March saw small business leaders slash plans for future hiring and pull back slightly from plans to increase capital expenditures, according to the NFIB.
Just one of the 10 components that make up the optimism index increased in March — satisfaction with current inventories, which edged up 1 percentage point to show a seasonally adjusted net 3 percent of survey respondents who were satisfied with their inventories.
The NFIB randomly sampled 757 of its members in March to develop the index.
Contact Seltzer at rseltzer@cnybj.com
