Small Business Optimism Index Drops in July
Expected better business conditions in the next 6 months deteriorated 

TRENTON, NJ, Aug. 11, 2020 — The latest results from the nations bellwether measurement of its Main Street economy did not have much good news to announce this morning, as states like New Jersey continue to have some businesses not yet reopened and others with highly restricted operations.

NFIB’s Small Business Economic Trends report (Optimism Index) fell 1.8 points to 98.8 in July, near the survey’s historical average. Overall, 4 of the 10 Index components improved, 5 declined, and 1 was unchanged. The NFIB Uncertainty Index increased 7 points to 88. Reports of expected better business conditions in the next six months declined 14 points to a net 25 percent.

“Stores on Main Streets throughout New Jersey are closing. So far, Governor Murphy has only dedicated $50 million to provide grants and loans to small businesses, but New Jersey received more than $5 billion from the federal government,”” said NFIB State Director in New Jersey, Eileen Kean. “It is time for Governor Murphy to go further to help our struggling Main Streets.”

NFIB Research Center has collected Small Business Economic Trends Data with Quarterly surveys since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. The sample is drawn from the membership files of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The SBET is one of the few archival data sets on small business, particularly when research questions address business operations rather than opinions. Today, it’s the largest, longest-running data set on small business economic conditions available.

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For more than 77 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.