Small businesses in the United States reported an increase in business confidence in July.

The latest Small Business Optimism Index from the National Federation of Independent Business increased by 0.7 to reach 95.7 last month.

This is the second-highest figure this year, only surpassed by May. However, it is still below the optimal level of 100. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had
expected a rise to 96.0.

An NFIB spokesman said that the reading remains well short of typical levels seen in times of economic expansion. He said: “The NFIB measures indicate that the small-business half of the economy is still not pulling its weight and the economic stats confirm it. Capital spending reports remain mediocre, spending plans are weak and inventories are too large.”

July’s NFIB sub-indexes reveal that the proportion of small-business owners who view now as a good time to expand increased to 10%, but remained at historically low levels.

There are still more owners who see business conditions deteriorating over the next six months than those who see conditions improving. However, the job creation plan sub-index rose one point to 13%, the best reading since September 2007.”