By james art 
Morgantown, W.VA. – The confidence of the small business in West Virginia is preserved on the basis of a report by the National Federation of Independent Business.
Director of the Head of West Virginia of the National Federation for Independent Business (NFIB), Gill White, reported the WAJR talk on Friday that the NFIB index for small business optimism dropped by 2.3 points in January to 102.8, as The uncertainty index increases 14 Sochi 100, the third highest recorded reading. This happens after the third consecutive month of reducing the trust of the business owner, although it maintains over 51-year-old 98, which White feels, affects a combination of state and outside state factors.
“I can tell you that we are experiencing the same problems in Western Virginia (as we are in the rest of the US),” White said. “And I hear from the owners of a small business often, expressing these concerns,” he said.
According to White, the most remarkable factor for the decline in the confidence of small business in Mountain State is the ability to fill open positions. In statistics reported by Western Virginia NFIB, 35 percent (seasonally adjusted) by all owners reported to open jobs that cannot fill in in January, which has been unchanged since December 2024. This lack of change seems to be affected It is affected by the fact that it is affected by the fact that it is affected and affected by the Covid-19 pandemic affected by this.
“We are still facing a very challenging labor market in the state of West Virginia, and I believe it in itself, started through Covid and we have never recovered,” White said.
The second, equally important factor that White also discusses is the continuous impact that inflation has on the confidence of small business owners in Mountain State. According to the NFIB report, about 18 percent of the owners report that inflation is their most important problem in operating their business, which reflects the decline in capital expenditures (20 percent in January, 7 percent of December 2024) and zero percent of The owners of reporting to have a planned investment in inventory. Although the labor market did not help the situation with small business, inflation has become just as much concern.
“The inflation numbers are still very concerned and create problems when you own a small business,” White said. “And if your net profit is marginal and inflation certainly takes some of that,” he said.
While NFIB’s most moods continue to make a mistake on caution, white and other supporters of small businesses hope to see some actions by state legislative authorities to deal with some of their needs. Although it was not an explicitly proposed plan, White openly expressed the desire to see some job creation legislation or a program that could encourage more small business development in Mountain State. With 2025, still in proverbial starting blocks, Western Virginia NFIB hopes to see actions taken in the coming months.
“And we also hope that the state legislation accepts it to heart,” White said. “And that they realize that there are struggling small business owners throughout their area and in the state of Western Virginia, who need creativity,” he said.