Small-Business Sentiment Nearly Flat as ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Looms

“U.S. small-business sentiment ticked up 0.3 in October—nearly unchanged—as uncertainty about future business conditions reached a record high.

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The National Federation of Independent Business said its optimism index rose to 93.1 last month, after slipping in September.

“We haven’t been above 95 during this entire recovery” that started in July 2009, said William Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist.

The survey, conducted before the presidential election, found that the percentage of owners uncertain about whether business conditions would be better or worse in six months reached a record high of 23 percent, the NFIB said. This eclipsed the pre-recession record of 15 percent reached during the Carter Administration.

“The Index still remains in solidly pessimistic—and recessionary—territory,” said Dunkelberg in a prepared statement.”

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