The United States Small Business Optimism Index came in at 99.8 in July, up by 2.4 points from June, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) revealed in a report posted on Tuesday.
Reports of inventory levels and real sales expectations both were too low by falling 2 points, while the Uncertainty Index rose 2 points to 21. Meanwhile, 14% of business owners cited inflation as one of their biggest issues, down 7 points compared to June. The percentage of owners planning to raise prices in the next three months fell from 32% in June to 28% in July.
In July, the top reported issue was labor quality or availability. Twenty-seven percent of small business owners cited 'labor quality or availability' as their single most important problem in July, up 8 points from June and 15 points above the historical average of 12%, NFIB detailed.
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