by Calculated Risk on 7/12/2016 07:41:00 AM

From the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB): Small Business Optimism Sees Third Month of Modest Gains

The Index of Small Business Optimism rose seven-tenths of a point in June to 94.5 ... according to the National Federation of Independent Business’ (NFIB) monthly economic survey released today. ...

Fifty-six percent reported hiring or trying to hire (unchanged), but 48 percent reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Fifteen percent of owners cited the difficulty of finding qualified workers as their Single Most Important Business Problem and the highest reading in this expansion. ... Twenty-nine percent of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, up 2 points, the highest reading in this expansion.
emphasis added

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the small business optimism index since 1986.

The index increased to 94.5 in June.