Small Business Owners A Little Less Optimistic, At Least For Now

The National Federation of Independent Business said its monthly index of small business optimism slipped one point to 87.9 last month. It had gained 7.9 points since March, indicating a view the economy was stabilizing, Reuters reports.

Plans for inventory investment and capital spending among the 758 randomly selected respondents slacked off as incoming data suggested the U.S. economy was likely to face a sluggish recovery. The survey found small businesses cut jobs at a rate of 1.07 workers per firm in June. As far as inflation is concerned, 31% of the respondents reported lowering prices, while only 13% raised them.