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The National Federation of Independent Business
said on Tuesday its Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.8
points to 95.2 last month, the highest reading since October
2007, when the economy was on the cusp of its worst recession
since the 1930s.
"April's reading took the index to a post-recession high and a
recovery high level," the NFIB said in a statement.
It adds to data such as employment and surveys on the
manufacturing and services industries that have shown the
economy regaining steam early in the second quarter after growth
braked abruptly in the first three months of the year.
Seven of the index's 10 components advanced, with gains in job
creation plans and the share of businesses optimistic about
earnings. There also was an increase in the share of businesses
raising inventories, which was one of the drags on first-quarter
growth.
More owners reported they could not find qualified workers to
fill open positions, which is leading to higher wages.
"Inflation will begin to pick up because reports of higher
compensation are growing in frequency and these costs will be
recovered in higher prices," the NFIB said.
Almost a quarter of businesses reported raising prices in April.
Another 25 percent plan to increase their prices over the next
few months.
"Reports of increases in average selling prices have accelerated
sharply in the last few months, reaching the highest level since
2011," said the NFIB.
(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao)
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