The net balance of firms increasing their average selling prices fell to 33%, down from 63% twelve months earlier. Expected credit conditions improved slightly. The percent of firms with positions unable to be filled right now rose modestly to 45%, as did those reporting that now was a good time to expand the business. The percent of firms expecting to raise employment levels improved to 17% and reversed its March drop, but remained low.
The earnings trends reading weakened and reversed its March rise. The percent reporting that inventories were too low fell, along with the percent planning to add to inventories. The percent planning to make capital outlays was 19%, below its October 2021 high of 31%. The net balance expecting higher real sales in six months weakened to -19, the least since last August. The net balance expecting the economy to improve fell to -49%, a four-month low. The outlook for business conditions in the next six months remained bleak in April. The NFIB Small Business Uncertainty Index fell to 72 in April but remained up from a low of 55 in June of last year. Six of the index’s 10 components declined m/m, while four increased.
This was the sixteenth consecutive month below the 49-year average of 98. The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined to 89.0 during April from an unrevised 90.1 in March and 90.9 in February, according to the Small Business Economic Trends survey conducted by the National Federation of Independent Business.
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