"With the dismal news that our economy actually contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012"
- NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg
Small-business owners' confidence fell unexpectedly, the report by the National Federation of Independent Business showed Tuesday. Due to the higher taxes kicking and budget cuts, a gauge of confidence among small businesses dropped 1.3 points to 89.5 in March, down from 90.8 in the prior month. Analysts, however, expected a reading of 92.3, even as confidence among small business owners remains close to record lows. In the meantime, the U.S. economy is not showing signs of stable improvement as it was planned by the Fed, the economy generated just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine month.
"With the dismal news that our economy actually contracted in the fourth quarter of 2012, it isn't any wonder that more small firms expect their real sales volumes to fall, few have plans to invest in new inventory, and hardly any owners are expanding or hiring."
"The Optimism Index barely budged in January. The only good news is that it ‘budged' up, not down. If small businesses were publicly traded companies, the stock market would be in shambles. While corporate profits are at record levels as a share of GDP, small businesses are still struggling to turn a profit," said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg.
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