“This should raise alarm bells for every Nevadan who is seeking public office”
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tray Abney, Nevada State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
CARSON CITY, Nev., June 11, 2024—In a poll of small business owners released today by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), inflation remains their top concern, but another component of the survey, the Uncertainty Index, rose an alarming nine points to 85, the highest reading since November 2020.
“This should raise alarm bells for every Nevadan who is seeking public office,” said Tray Abney, NFIB’s Nevada state director. “Small business owners are very uneasy about the future. The best thing we can do to ease their troubles is to ensure long-term public policy stability.”
Two policies Abney refers to are described in this guest editorial in The Washington Times by NFIB President Brad Close: Making the Small Business Deduction permanent and freeing small business owners from the beneficial ownership reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act.
“The small business sector is responsible for the production of over 40% of GDP and employment, a crucial portion of the economy,” said Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which publishes the Small Business Economic Trends (SBET) report. “But for 29 consecutive months, small business owners have expressed historically low optimism and their views about future business conditions are at the worst levels seen in 50 years. Small business owners need relief as inflation has not eased much on Main Street.”
NFIB’s monthly (SBET) report is the gold standard measurement of America’s small business economy. Used by the Federal Reserve, Congressional leaders, administration officials, and state legislatures across the nation, it’s regarded as the bellwether on the health and welfare of the Main Street enterprises that employ half of all workers, generate more net new jobs than large corporations, and gave most of us the first start in our working life. The SBET (aka the Optimism Index) is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. More about the Uncertainty Index can be read here. The typical NFIB member employs 10 people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.
Highlights from Today’s Report
- Twenty-two percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in their business, down three points from March but still the number one problem for small business owners.
- A net 26% (seasonally adjusted) of owners plan price hikes in April, down seven points and the lowest reading since April of last year.
- Forty percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, up three points from March, which was the lowest reading since January 2021.
- The net percent of owners raising average selling prices fell three points from March to a net 25% seasonally adjusted.
Keep up with the latest Nevada small-business news at www.nfib.com/nevada, where this news release can also be found, or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_NV.
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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Nevada
Abney Tauchen Group
775-443-5561
Reno, NV
NFIB.com/NV
Twitter: @NFIB_NV
