Bloomberg: US Small Business Optimism Lows Since March 2021 
Confidence in the future of US companies is at a minimum. This is evidenced by the data of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), published by Bloomberg.
According to the NFIB survey, the index of optimism among small businesses in the United States fell to 98.2 points (from 99.1 points). This is the lowest result since March 2021. The concerns of the owners of the companies, in particular, are connected with the growth of the inflation rate in the country. Against this background, 53 percent of those surveyed said that they had to raise prices for their goods and services. More than half of entrepreneurs also plan to raise prices for their products in the next three months. The share of companies that believe that now is the right time to expand their business has declined and reached the lowest in the last eight months. The entrepreneurs said that it was the growing costs of production and wages, due to which they lose profits.
“Small business owners are trying to take advantage of the current economic recovery period. However, they remain pessimistic about the business environment in the near future, ”said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist at NFIB. According to him, one of the most serious problems for small businesses at the moment is the loss of personnel and a shortage of stocks of products due to supply problems. About 39 percent of entrepreneurs said supply chain disruptions had a significant impact on their business. Nine percent also said their inventory levels were critically low. At the same time, a record number of business owners indicated that they have raised or plan to raise salaries to employees in the coming months.
Small business pessimism is only part of the problems facing the US economy after the outbreak of the pandemic. The country's GDP growth slowed in the third quarter, increasing by only two percent in annual terms. Also, the real disposable income of Americans (money left after mandatory payments, adjusted for inflation) actually fell by 0.7 percent (by $ 29.4 billion). US citizens began to buy fewer goods, especially cars and services, which affected restaurants and hotels more than others. However, experts predict that the situation will improve significantly in the fourth quarter of 2021.