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U.S. small business confidence falls in January

Xinhua, February 11, 2015 Adjust font size:

The U.S. small business confidence slipped in January as expectation for future economic growth fell, a leading industry association said Tuesday.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said that its Small-Business Optimism Index fell 2.5 points to 97.9 in January reversing the gain in December, which reached an eight- year high.

Seven out of the 10 index components fell and the expectation for economy to improve fell the most while indictors for job openings and inventory kept improving. "Even though there is a decline in optimism, the small business sector is operating in a somewhat normal zone," said NFIB chief economist Bill Dunkelberg in a statement.

"The increase in the percent of owners reporting hard to fill job openings is very good news," Dunkelberg said.

Over 99 percent of all employing organizations in the United States are small businesses, which employ half of the country's labor force. Endite