COLUMBUS, Ohio – The NFIB Small Business Optimism Index declined 2 points in September to 98.8. This was the first decline in three months, though it remains above the survey’s 52-year average of 98. The Uncertainty Index rose 7 points from August to 100, the fourth-highest reading in over 51 years.

“Ohio’s small business owners are working hard to keep up with their customers’ demands, but it’s not without some challenges,” said Jared Weiser, NFIB Ohio state director. “With supply chain disruptions, a lack of qualified job applicants and sales uncertainty, our members are feeling less optimistic about the economy. We will continue to work with Gov. [Mike] DeWine and members of the Ohio General Assembly to find ways to ease these issues for Main Street.”

Key findings include:

  • Supply chain and inflation issues stood out as a key problem in the report. The net percent of owners raising average selling prices rose 3 points from August to a net 24% (seasonally adjusted). A net 31% (seasonally adjusted) plan to increase prices over the next three months, up 5 points from August.
  • Fourteen percent of owners reported that inflation was their single most important problem in operating their business (higher input costs), up 3 points from August.
  • In September, 64% of small business owners reported that supply chain disruptions were affecting their business to some degree, up 10 points from August.
  • A net negative 7% (seasonally adjusted) of owners viewed current inventory stocks as “too low” in September, down 7 points from August. This was the largest monthly decline in the survey’s history.
  • One bright spot was actual earnings changes (the net percent of owners reporting higher vs. lower profits), which increased 3 points in September, up to its highest level since December 2021.
  • The net percent of owners expecting better business conditions fell 11 points from August to a net 23% (seasonally adjusted).
  • In September, 18% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem, down 3 points from August and tying with taxes as the top single most important problem.

As reported in NFIB’s monthly jobs report, a seasonally adjusted 32% of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in September, unchanged from August. The last time unfilled job openings fell below 32% was in July 2020. Of the 58% of owners hiring or trying to hire in September, 88% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. A seasonally adjusted net 16% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up 1 point from August and the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Hiring plans are at their highest level since January.

Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners rose by 3 points from August to 11%. Seasonally adjusted, a net 31% reported raising compensation, up 2 points from August. A seasonally adjusted net 19% plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down 1 point from August.

Fifty-six percent of small business owners reported capital outlays in the past six months, unchanged from August. Of those making expenditures, 42% reported spending on new equipment, 22% acquired vehicles and 14% improved or expanded facilities. Eleven percent spent money on new fixtures and furniture, and 5% acquired new buildings or land for expansion. Twenty-one percent (seasonally adjusted) plan capital outlays in the next six months, unchanged from August and a historically weak reading.