US small business sentiment improved last month on hopes that the worst of the country's recession was over, an industry group said on Tuesday, but conditions remain very weak. The National Federation of Independent Business said its optimism index improved by 2.1 points to 88.6 in August, thanks to improved expectations for future business and real sales volume.
August's level was 7.6 points higher than the recent trough in March, which was the second-lowest reading since the series began in 1973. The all-time low was notched in 1979. "The gain in the optimism index clearly signals that the worst is likely over, but so far there has been no 'surge' in sentiment or in the important index components directly tied to GDP" (gross domestic product), NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg said in a statement.
The survey, based on 882 respondents, showed that jobs were still hard to find, with small business owners reporting a decline in average employment per firm of 0.80 worker during the prior three months. This was a big improvement from the record decline of 1.26 workers notched in May 2009, but still very weak compared with the average over the survey's 35 year history, NFIB said.