DOWNBEAT MAIN STREET: Small business owners remain fairly pessimistic about how businesses will fare in coming months, according to a survey by the National Federation of Independent Business. Owners’ optimism inched down in May to 94.4 from 94.5 in April, using the federation’s index.
BRIGHT SIDE: One positive component of the index was an increase of 1 percentage point in the number of owners planning to hire.
TOUGH FIT?: More than a third of small business owners surveyed reported difficulty finding qualified workers for their openings.
