WASHINGTON, December 14, 2010 – The NFIB reports the National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism rose 1.5 points in November rising to 93.2, the highest reading since December 2007, and the fourth consecutive monthly gain. The bad news: 93.2 is, from an historical perspective, still a recession-level reading (the average was about 100 before the recession started). The last time the Index was this low (prior to 2008) was in 1993. The recovery in the Index continues to underperform all recovery periods since 1973, the start of the NFIB surveys.
“The Index is trending up, but at a very slow pace,” said Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist. Deeper analysis indicates Dunkelberg should have included a statement that small business is still in a deep hole. Read the complete analysis…..