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The National Federation of Independent Business
said its Small Business Optimism Index fell 0.8 point to 95.3.
The index is now five points below where it was before the start
of the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession.
Six of the index's 10 components fell in the survey of 608
randomly-selected small business owners.
Still, more business owners said they believed it was a good
time to expand their firms and expected better conditions in six
months.
Owners added an average of 0.24 workers per firm last month on a
seasonally adjusted basis, an improvement from August's average
of 0.02 workers.
Half of the owners said they had hired or tried to hire in the
last three months, although 42 percent said they had a hard time
finding qualified candidates.
The survey suggests weaker job creation as those surveyed said
they planned to hire fewer workers and spend less on capital
investments.
"Overall, no progress, still stuck in a rut that has been
difficult to escape with so little progress on the issues
important to small business owners," NFIB chief economist
William Dunkelberg said, referring to the survey results.
(Reporting by Elvina Nawaguna; Editing by Paul Simao)
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