American small business confidence jumps to more than six-year high

On January 14th, Jinshi Data reported that the confidence of small businesses in the United States soared to the highest level in more than six years in December, continuing the post-election rally. Data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) showed that the optimistic index of small businesses rose by 3.4 points to 105.1 last month, the highest level since October 2018, and the index has been above the average level of 98 points for 51 years for the second consecutive month. The uncertainty index of the survey fell by 12 points to 86 points. The November 5th U.S. election gave Republicans control of the White House and Congress, and small business owners tended to support Republicans. In addition, in December, the proportion of small business owners who expected the economy to improve rose by 16 percentage points to 52%, the highest level since the fourth quarter of 1983. The proportion of those who believe that now is a good time to expand their business is the highest since February 2020. More small business owners expect sales adjusted for inflation to rise.