Small Business Confidence Edges Higher

Washington, DC, Oct. 12, 2011 -- Small company confidence edged higher in September from a 13-month low in August, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

NFIB said its index rose to 88.9, the first gain in seven months, from August’s 88.1, which was the weakest since July 2010.

The index averaged 100.7 in the six-year expansion that ended in December 2007.

“About the only good thing to say about it is that it didn’t go down,” William Dunkelberg, the group’s chief economist, said in a press release.

“Nothing has transpired to rally confidence that the recovery will pick up speed, now or at any time in the future.”

Expectations for higher sales rose six points to minus 6 percent from minus 12. A measure of expectations for better business conditions in six months rose four points to a net minus 22 percent from a record low in August.