Small business optimism held onto recent gains in Q2/17, according to the latest findings from the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index.
In the quarterly survey, which measures the optimism of small business owners, the overall index score was 95 in April, down from 100 in February when business owners reported being the most optimistic since the start of the Great Recession. The drop is not statistically significant, and small business optimism is still up significantly from a year ago when the index score was 64, as business owners continue to report improvement across most survey measures.
Many of the key metrics this quarter were almost unchanged from the Q1/17 survey. These included:
“It’s encouraging to see that for many small business owners 2017 is off to a great start, and they remain optimistic and continue to express confidence in the outlook for their businesses,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo head of small business. “Our latest survey shows us that more small business owners report plans to hire more employees, increase their capital spending and apply for new credit products in the year ahead. This is consistent with what our bankers are hearing from small business customers today. As the economy has improved over several years, more and more business owners have healthier finances and are ready to take steps to position their businesses for the long-term.”
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