Small business optimism, as measured by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Index of Small Business Optimism, dropped a tenth of a point in May, thus remaining at a historic low.

This reading of 94.4 is “consistent with the sub-par performance of GDP and employment growth,” according to NFIB. Business owners’ expectations for future sales declined for the third month in a row. Levels of hiring and spending were also low, as were expectations of future hiring and spending. However, profit trends were a bright spot, remaining stable after a sizable increase in April. Click here to read more or download the full report.