A national survey finds small business optimism increased slightly in April, but NFIB’s small business optimism index remains below a 50-year average for a 28th consecutive month. NFIB state director Leah Long says there’s a lot of discouraging news about the economy.
“We have labor issues, inflation, quality of labor. Insurance rates in Louisiana are so high right now for small business owners that it’s hard for them to make the balancing act,” Long said.
Long says 22-percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem.
“They’re having to figure out how to pay their employees, how to not raise the prices of their goods and services, and make it all work,” Long said.
Long says a staggering 91-percent of owners who either hired or tried to hire workers last month, reported they had few or no qualified applicants.
“Businesses right now, it’s hard to find people to work, which is shocking because there’s tons of jobs out there,” Long stated.
Comments