The Optimism Index was 98.2 in October, according to the NFIB Research Center’s industry-specific quarterly Small Business Economic Trends survey.
“Small business optimism fell in all reported industries except for construction, which was the most optimistic out of the four industries due to higher sales expectations and hiring plans,” Holly Wade, NFIB Research Center executive director, said. “Despite the diverging trends in optimism among industry sectors, 63 percent of small business owners rated the health of their business as excellent or good.”
When asked to rate the overall health of their businesses, 63 percent of small-business owners rated theirs as excellent or good, a 2 points drop from July. The finance and wholesale industries rated their businesses as excellent or good at a the highest rate while the retail and agriculture industries rated at the lowest.
Supply chain disruptions decreased to 60 percent. Retail and wholesale saw the most disruptions while finance and professional services saw the least.
The construction industry expects higher real sales volume, rising 21 points to a net 18 percent.
The index for manufacturing fell 5.8 points because of a deterioration in expectations for better business conditions and real sales expectations.
The retail industry had the lowest level of hiring plans of all industries at 5 percent.