The month of May was neither exciting nor depressing for small-business owners. According to the National Federation of Independent Business, the economic outlook — as measured by the NFIB Small-Business Optimism Index — was up four-tenths of a point from April to 97.2, which indicates that there is no recession signal.

As mentioned in the article: "Job openings fell and are expected to nudge unemployment up, but unfilled positions remain high. Job-creation plans, although strong, were flat. Reports of price hikes eased, but continue higher than desired. Capital-spending plans, like actual outlays, were unchanged from the previous month."

Employment gains remained solid and unfilled job openings were down by two points from April. Twelve percent of those surveyed said the availability of qualified labor was their top business problem, unchanged since February.

To read additional statistics from the research, click here.