November 2024 Small Business Outlook: Optimism for 2025 Continues to Grow

Summary: October was a tough sales month for small business.  Capital spending is trending upward and expectations rose for a post-election sales bump.

• 20% of small business owners reported higher sales in the past 3-months (3 points lower than September and lowest reading in 4-years) and the percentage expecting higher sales rose 5 points to reach -4% (highest level this year).
• 35% of small businesses reported job openings they could not fill (up 1 point from September).
• 31% of small business owners raised compensation in October (down 1 point from September and lowest level in 3-years).
• 23% of small business owners ranked inflation as their top concern (unchanged from September and still the top cited problem) and 20% said that labor quality is their top concern (3 points higher than September).
• 21% of small businesses raised their prices in August (1 point lower than September) and 26% are planning on raising prices in the next 3-months (1 point higher than September).
• 54% of small business owners reported capital outlays in the last 6-months (up 3 points from September) and 22% are planning capital purchases in the next 3-months (up 3 points from September).
• -6% of small business owners expect better credit conditions in the next 3-months (2 points better than September).
• 6% of small business owners believe now is a good time to expand (2 points higher than September).
• 64% of small business owners are not interested in a loan (2 points higher than September) and 25% report borrowing on a regular basis (down 1 point from September).
• 3% of small business owners reported that financing was their top problem in October (down 1 point from September).

Learn more about this data from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index, published on Nov. 12, 2024.