Owners report strongest hiring intentions since October 2022
The National Federation of Independent Business reported Tuesday that its small-business optimism index climbed to 99.8 in July, the highest reading since August 2025 and well above the 97 economists had expected in a Wall Street Journal poll.
“Although uncertainty is currently elevated, Main Street anticipates that business conditions will continue to improve,” said Bill Dunkelberg, the NFIB’s chief economist.
The NFIB survey provides a monthly snapshot of sentiment among the nation’s small firms, which account for nearly half of private-sector jobs. Small businesses are often more sensitive than larger firms to sudden price fluctuations, higher interest rates and broader economic uncertainty.
A seasonally adjusted net 20% of small-business owners said they plan to create new jobs during the next three months, up 9 percentage points from June. The hiring-plans figure is at its highest level since October 2022, the NFIB said.
Both actual and planned price increases among surveyed owners declined notably from prior months. Reports of inflation as the single most important problem facing their businesses fell for the first time this year, the survey found.
Labor quality or availability replaced inflation as the top issue reported by small-business owners in July, according to the survey.