Show-Me State Times

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its August jobs report, indicating a continued decline in unfilled job openings among small businesses. According to the report, 32% of small business owners had job openings they could not fill in August, a decrease of one percentage point from July. This is the lowest level recorded since July 2020.

Of those surveyed, 28% reported openings for skilled workers, down by one point, while 13% had openings for unskilled labor, an increase of one point compared to the previous month.

“While the economy appears to be doing well, small businesses are scaling back on job openings,” said Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business owners with job openings are still looking for qualified applicants, many citing labor quality as their single most important problem.”

NFIB State Director Brad Jones commented on the hiring landscape: “Although there are fewer open positions, small businesses are still trying to hire. Finding applicants with the right experience and skills remains a challenge.”

In August, 21% of small business owners identified labor quality as their main concern—unchanged from July—while those citing labor costs as their primary issue fell by one point to 8%.

The report also noted that 53% of small business owners were hiring or attempting to hire during August, a drop of four points from July. Of these employers, 43% reported finding few or no qualified applicants for open positions—a decrease of five points from the prior month. Specifically, 26% saw few qualified candidates and 17% reported none at all.

Job vacancies remained highest in construction, manufacturing, and transportation sectors but were lowest in wholesale and finance industries.

Looking ahead, a seasonally adjusted net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs within three months—up by one point from July and marking a third consecutive monthly increase.

Compensation trends showed that a seasonally adjusted net 29% of owners raised pay in August (an increase of two points), while a net 20% plan further compensation increases over the next three months (up three points). Labor costs as the leading problem declined slightly to 8%.

For more details on these findings and additional data from NFIB’s latest survey results, readers can access the full report via this link: https://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-business-economic-trends/.