Small business optimism is showing signs of improvement as the new year begins, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). Holly Wade, Executive Director of the NFIB Research Center, discussed the findings from December’s Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) survey during an interview on Bloomberg: The Close.
Wade explained that small business owners are starting 2026 with a more positive outlook. "Our December report was largely positive. Small business owners are feeling fairly optimistic about moving into the new year, into 2026, and their expectations of business conditions improved quite a bit over the last month. But, as you mentioned, sales expectations did fall, so we’ll see how this evolves in the next number of months. But largely a solid footing for most small business owners in operating their business," said Wade.
She also noted that uncertainty among small businesses has declined. "Well, as you saw in our report, our Uncertainty Index also fell. So, small business owners are feeling a bit more certain, comfortable in operating their business. Consumer spending has supported a lot of small business owners moving through 2025 in the last half while the uncertainty element that was so prevalent in the first half has moderated quite a bit as a lot of those policy shocks at the beginning of the year navigating those challenges have moderated. So, inflation, the labor market, they’re more comfortable in making decisions. And those two challenges that are still quite significant for some small business owners, it has moderated, both have moderated quite a bit for the majority of them in operating their business."
The recent SBET survey suggests that while concerns such as inflation and labor shortages remain present for some businesses, these issues have become less severe for many compared to earlier periods.
