Home » Industry News » Business Owners Feel Weight of Economic Uncertainty
U.S. Economy

Business Owners Feel Weight of Economic Uncertainty

Small business owners have recently expressed more uncertainty about the economy than they have in over four decades, according to a Nov. 2 report from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

The information comes from the NFIB Uncertainty Index. The index shows business owners express increasing anxiety about the future of the U.S. economy as the presidential election nears, NFIB reports.

“The inability to anticipate the direction of the economy, even in the near term, discourages small business owners from planning or committing to anything,”  NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg says.

The NFIB Uncertainty Index has shown that owners are hesitant to make financial commitments for their companies. Since they aren’t sure what the economy will do, they don’t know whether it’s a good time to invest, hire new employees or expand their operations.

“Small business owners need predictability,” Dunkelberg says. “If you can’t predict your tax obligation, your labor costs, your regulator compliance costs and your health insurance costs, then you are highly unlikely to make big financial decisions one way or the other.”

About Kate Klein

Kate is profiles editor for Hardware Retailing magazine. She reports on news and industry events and writes about retailers' unique contributions to the independent home improvement sector. She graduated from Cedarville University in her home state of Ohio, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and minored in creative writing. She loves being an aunt, teaching writing to kids, running, reading, farm living and, as Walt Whitman says, traveling the open road, “healthy, free, the world before me.”

Check Also

2025 National Hardware Show

Catch the Excitement at the 2025 National Hardware Show

Registration is now open for the networking event of the year, an event that unites …