The U.S. small business confidence increased slightly in November, a leading industry association said Tuesday.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) said that its Small-Business Optimism Index edged up 0.9 point to 92.5 last month, below the one-year high recorded in May with a reading of 94.4.

The index fluctuated between 86.5 and 94.5 since the latest recession ended in June 2009.

Eight of the ten index components went up in November. Most notably, the net percentage of business owners planning to make capital outlays rose to 24 percent.

However, the net share of owners with positive earnings trends fell to minus 24 percent and the net ratio of business owners expecting the economy to improve also fell to minus 20 percent.

"The year is not ending on a high note in the small-business sector of the economy," the NFIB's chief economist William Dunkelberg noted in a statement.

Small businesses make up about 99 percent of all employing entities in the United States, hiring a half of the country's labor force.