March saw US small business optimism decline for the 15th consecutive month, amid concerns about record inflation and rising interest rates.

March was the 15th consecutive month that the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index was below the nearly 50-year average, which was 98.

Although the March stat was 90.1, down from February's 90.9, by a small percentage, it was still below healthy levels.

In this context, the National Confederation of Independent Business said, "Although the economic outlook continues to deteriorate, the expected widespread recession is not yet apparent."

He added, “The growth in the fourth quarter decreased to 2.6 percent, and the accumulation of inventories accounted for 60 percent of the total growth.

Weak residential construction also reduced the growth rate by an estimated 1.2 percentage points, and it will remain in the negative trend during the first quarters. Meanwhile, hiring plans fell to their lowest level since May 2020.

As a result, some of the smaller companies expressed concern about a banking crisis, after the implications of the recent collapse of the Silicon Valley bank hit regional banks.