The numbers: Small businesses in the United States in July lost almost all of their gains in confidence that had been made in June, according to a survey released by the National Federation of Independent Business on Tuesday.
The index dropped 2.8 points to 99.7 in July after hitting the highest level since the November election in June. What happened: The business owners, who lean Republican, are losing confidence in the strength of the economy and expect a slow down in job creation, the survey found. Owners expecting better business conditions over the next six months fell eight points to a net negative 20%.
Still a net 27% of the owners planned to create new jobs in the next three months, only down one point from a record-high reading in June.On inflation, a net 46% of small business owners reported raising average selling prices. Prices were rising in wholesale, manufacturing and retail.A net 38% of owners reported raising compensation for workers, down 1 point from June’s record high. A net 27% expect to raise compensation in the next three months, a 48-year record high reading.
Big picture: The NFIB survey comes as hiring in the economy looks to have strengthened in July. The government reported that nonfarm payroll jobs rose by 943,000 and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% last month. Job openings hit a fresh record in June. In the last few days, there has been some concern that the delta coronavirus variant could slow sales and activity in August and September.
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