The Optimism Index increased 1.3 points in December to 91.9. This is the 24th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. The last time the Index was at or above the average was December 2021. The Index hovered around the “90” level all last year. Of the 10 index components, 5 increased, 3 decreased, and 2 were unchanged. Forty percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, unchanged from November. Thirty-three percent have openings for skilled workers (unchanged) and 14 percent have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged). The difficulty in ... (full story)