Many of the nation’s small-business owners apparently aren’t letting interest rate concerns and geopolitical uncertainty get them down. Their optimism actually is rising, according to the latest results from the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, which rose from 93 to 100. The modest increase in the Index, which measures business confidence and overall market conditions, points to the continued strengthening of small-business owner confidence.
The Index tracks six key measures for both current conditions and future expectations as reported by small-business owners: current financial situation; revenues; cash flow; capital spending; number of jobs and credit availability.
Owners surveyed were asked to cite their company’s most important problem. Lack of business/poor economy was cited by 23% of all respondents. This was followed by health insurance (13%), lack of qualified employees (12%) and financial resources/cash flow (12%).
