US small business confidence holds steady in October

Confidence of small business owners in the US remained unchanged last month, figures released on Tuesday showed.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its gauge of small business optimism held steady at 96.1 in October, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 96.5 reading and below the long-term average of 98.

October marked the end of a four-month period during which small business owners had signalled employment growth, with 27% of owners reporting they could not fill jobs last month, with 55% of companies looking to hire or hiring indicating they struggled to find qualified staff for the roles they wanted to fill.

The report added the number of companies planning to spend over the next two quarters rose by one percentage point to 26%, while 55% of those not planning to expand cited weak sales as the main factor behind the decision.

The number of businesses reporting weak sales as their main issue rose to 12% in October, a slight increase compared with the previous month.

Meanwhile, only 2% of small businesses increased selling prices compared to the 15% that reported lowering prices, while 17% said they were planning a price hike over the next few months, a 1% increase from the previous month.

"Owner expectations for the economy over all appear to anticipate a continuation of underperformance," the NFIB added, indicating the net percent of businesses expecting better conditions remained unchanged at -4% last month.