Small businesses were slightly less optimistic in August, as the Small Business Optimism index dipped to 94.4 from 94.6 in July, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported Tuesday.
"Once again, the NFIB survey showed no signs of strength in the small business sector," said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. "Uncertainty seems to be the major enemy of economic progress and the political climate is a major contributor to the high levels of uncertainty that we've seen. The current economic environment is not a good one for strong or sustained growth."
The survey indicated businesses expect conditions to decline.
Owners won't expand, with political climate the most cited reason, and businesses say they can't fill open positions.
