Mubasher: Positive sentiment among US small business owners improved during October, as worries over a recession faded, a small-business group survey said on Tuesday.

The small business optimism index inched up by 0.6 to 102.4 points month-on-month last October, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said.

Business owners were still creating jobs, raising pays and growing their businesses.

It is worth noting that the NFIB survey results, based on responses from 1,618 owners last month, offers a quick look of small-business activity in the US.

The labour market remained tight, with 25% of businesses cited finding qualified workers as their top issue.

Nearly 59% of employers reported capital outlays during the month, with 29% planning for capital outlays, the survey report said.

Job creation was stable, with an average addition of 0.12 workers per firm.

A net 4% of all business owners saw nominal sales growth over the past three months, with the portion of those expecting higher real sales volumes rising by 1% to 17%.

A net 30% of firms reported higher worker compensation during the reported month, while 22% of all firms planned to increase compensation.