Surging oil prices weighed on small business optimism in March, according to the latest readout from the National Federation of Independent Business.
In a monthly barometer released Tuesday, the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index fell three points in March to 95.8, leaving it below its 52-year average of 98.
The last time the index fell below its historical average was April 2025. A separate index that measures uncertainty rose four points from February to 92 in March, well above its historic average of 69.
Bill Dunkelberg, chief economist of the Washington, D.C.-based organization, said that while some tax provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut Act have had many positives for small business owners, “the dramatic spike in oil prices has spooked consumers and owners alike.
“Small business owners are having to absorb those higher input costs and pass them along to their customers,” he added.
The report also shows that the percentage of business owners planning to make capital outlays in the next six months dropped to its lowest level since November 2009, and that 62% reported supply chain disruptions to their business.
NFIB researchers have tracked small business economic trends via quarterly surveys since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986.
