The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Optimism Index reading in December marked the 24th consecutive month below the 50-year average of 98. According to the index, 23% of small business owners reported that inflation was the top concern, replacing labor quality. Holly Wade, NFIB Director of Research, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the index reading and give insight into how small business owners are feeling about the economy and how it may impact the broader market. Wade explains some of the stress higher inflation has put on small businesses, which in turn gets passed to consumers: "We've seen in our survey that the first hit on inflation pressures are business owners' earnings, and so earnings have been deteriorating for a while now... so the first hit, are business owners earnings, and then they pass along those costs to their customers of their goods and services that they're selling. But that process takes a bit." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live. Editor's note: This article was written by Nicholas Jacobino

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