Show-Me State Times

In October, 32% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, according to the latest jobs report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). This figure remained unchanged from September and is the highest since December 2020, except for a brief increase in August. Of those reporting openings, 28% were seeking skilled workers and 11% were looking for unskilled labor.

Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist, commented on the findings: “The post-Covid labor market appears to have mostly normalized on Main Street. Jobs are plentiful albeit declining, while qualified applicants are scarce but increasing for some industries.”

Brad Jones, NFIB State Director, added: “Small business owners want to hire. But for many of our members, finding qualified applicants is a near-impossibility. That makes it difficult to expand and plan ahead.”

The report also showed that a seasonally adjusted net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months. This marks a one-point decline from September and is the first drop since hiring plans began rising in May 2025. Despite continued interest in hiring, businesses are struggling to find suitable candidates.

Fifty-six percent of small business owners either hired or tried to hire in October—a decrease of two points from September. Among these employers, 49% said they found few or no qualified applicants for their open positions. Thirty-one percent reported few qualified applicants (up two points), while 18% reported none (down three points).

Labor quality remains a significant concern. In October, 27% of small business owners cited it as their most important problem—an increase of nine points from September and approaching the record high set in November 2021. The issue was most pronounced in construction, transportation, and professional services sectors; nearly half of construction firms identified labor quality as their top challenge compared with just 13% in finance.

Labor costs as the primary concern dropped by three points to eight percent compared with September.

Compensation trends showed that a net 26% of small business owners raised pay in October (down five points from September), while a net 19% plan further increases over the next three months.

For more details on these findings and industry breakdowns, readers can view the full NFIB Jobs Report at https://www.nfib.com/surveys/small-business-economic-trends/.