WASHINGTON—Small business confidence edged up in May even as some weak sales growth numbers have been reported recently.
The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said its small business optimism index rose 0.2 point to a reading of 93.8 last month.
Although it was the second straight monthly increase in the index, it remained below the 100 reading in December 2014 and its 42-year average of 98. About 700 small business owners participated in the survey, the NFIB said.
Weak spending on capital goods such as machinery, and a slow pace of inventory accumulation, have been a drag on economic growth. Four components of the NFIB index rose last month, while another four fell and two were unchanged.
Worries about anemic sales ranked high among small business owners. Fourteen percent of owners said weak sales were their main business problem, up three points from April.