US small business confidence continues to recover from early 2016 dip in July

Small business confidence Stateside edged slightly higher in July as reflected in two separate gauges linked to their hiring plans and ability to meet their staffing needs.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) index of small business optimism rose from a reading of 94.5 in June to 94.6, versus economists´ forecast for an unchanged reading.

A sub-index tracking their plans to increase hiring nudged higher from 11% to 12%, which was "consistent with the healthy pace of private sector job growth reported by the BLS", according to economists at Barclays Research.

Another gauge referencing the share of firms with positions which they were not able to fill right now - a key survey-based measure of labor market slack in the US, according to Barclays - slipped from the previous month´s level of 29% to 26%.

Nevertheless, "it still remains elevated," Barclays´s jesse Hurwitz said.

"Overall, US small business sentiment has recovered from its early-year dip but remains well below its late 2014 peak. If household spending and overall economic growth improve in the second half as we expect, sentiment should see further gains from current levels."