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Optimism among the nation’s small business owners hit a seven-month low as they continued to struggle to find both people willing to work and supplies. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) reported its small-business confidence index fell 0.9 points to 98.2 last month. It was the lowest reading since March. Businesses are facing one of the worst labor shortages since World War II. More than 4 million people left the workforce during the pandemic and haven’t returned.

The number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits fell to a new pandemic low as companies continue to work with the employees they have and seek to hire more. The Labor Department reported new jobless claims fell to 281,000 last week—the lowest since March of last year and better than economists’ estimates.

With inflation in the United States now more than double the Federal Reserve’s stated target of 2% inflation, economists have been at odds on whether this is ‘transitory’ or just the beginning of a new monetary trend. With the vast majority of the developed world instituting economic lockdowns and massive government stimulus to combat the COVID‑19 pandemic, it makes sense that this would fuel inflation in modernized countries with just-in-time supply chains, negligible spare capacity…and then sudden injections of massive stimulation from governments.

U.S. stocks built on the previous week’s gains, helped by some strong economic reports and positive earnings surprises. All of the major indexes finished solidly in the green. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.6% to finish the week at 35,295. The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite rebounded 2.2%, closing at 14,897. By market cap, the large cap S&P 500 gained 1.8%, while the mid cap S&P 400 and small cap Russell 2000 finished up 2.2% and 1.5%, respectively.