Econoday Economic Report: NFIB Small Business Optimism Index September 13, 2011

2011 Economic Calendar

Resource Center » U.S. & Intl Recaps | Event Release Dates | Event Definitions | Today's Calendar

NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

Released On 9/13/2011 7:30:00 AM For Aug, 2011

	Prior	Actual
level	89.9	88.1

Highlights
Confidence among small businesses fell for the sixth straight month, down 1.8 points in August to 88.1. The top problem is sales where more firms are currently in a downtrend than an uptrend which in turn is hurting earnings. Expectations for future sales are also in decline. Only five percent of the sample say it's a good time to expand. On the positive side, more firms plan to create new jobs over the next three months and more are reporting unfilled job openings.

Definition
The small business optimism index is compiled from a survey that is conducted each month by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) of its members. The index is a composite of ten seasonally adjusted components based on questions on the following: plans to increase employment, plans to make capital outlays, plans to increase inventories, expect economy to improve, expect real sales higher, current inventory, current job opening, expected credit conditions, now a good time to expand, and earnings trend. The baseline of 100 is for the average of the year 1986. A positive percentage change indicates improvement while a negative percentage change in the index suggests a decline in optimism. But the level indicates optimism relative to 1986—a moderately healthy year for economic growth with annual average GDP growth at 3.5 percent. Why Investors Care

2011 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/11 2/8 3/8 4/12 5/10 6/14 7/12 8/9 9/13 10/11 11/8 12/13

Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov