If you’re having trouble finding qualified candidates for your business, you’re not alone. NFIB’s most recent Small Business Optimism Index found that 33 percent of all owners had unfilled job openings in April. That’s coupled with a slight decrease in the optimism index by 0.2 points down to 104.5, still a historically high ranking.
The overall optimism report remains strong, with five markers on the index increasing while expectations for future business decreased a significant eight points.
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The increased amount of job openings suggests a tight labor market, and small businesses may need to increase wages to attract qualified employees. Yahoo Finance spoke with Renaissance Macro economist Neil Dutta, who suggested that compensation plans would need to be “much higher” for businesses to fill their open positions.
Job openings continue to outpace hiring, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics said there were 5.74 million job openings in March.
The overall optimism did not take into account the recent House vote to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with the American Health Care Act, and that could lead to a change in the next measure.
“Congress and the White House must understand that small business owners are paying close attention, and they are making decisions that affect the economy based on how Washington performs,” said NFIB president and CEO Juanita Duggan. “The drop in expected business conditions should be a warning to Washington that health care reform, regulatory reform, and tax reform have implications far bigger than politics.”
Tax reform is the next big issue on the White House’s agenda, and the broad strokes of the President’s tax plan addressed one of NFIB’s key issues, tax rate parity for small businesses. Details on the full plan are scarce, but negotiations are ongoing.
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