Businesses with fewer than 10 employees are feeling uncertainty at a historic level, said the Wisconsin representative, Bill Smith, with the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Smith was on La Crosse Talk stating inflation, soft employment, and rising compensation all add up to businesses being highly uncertain — to a record level.

The Wisconsin director said it’s common for businesses to slow down operations as the nation approaches a presidential race, however this is the 33rd month that numbers are low for business sentiment.

The NFIB conducts a quarterly survey of its members since 1973 and monthly surveys since 1986. The organization randomly surveys its member businesses. Data from this survey is from September 2024.

The full survey asks about a company's ability to hire, plans to hire. The full NFIB report can be found here: https://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-business-economic-trends/