Small business job openings at exceptionally high levels, job creation plans decrease
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ALBANY, NY (Sept. 6, 2024) – NFIB’s August jobs report found that 40% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August, up two points from July. Labor quality as the top small business operating problem rose two points from July to 21%, the highest level reported since January of this year.
Though state-specific data is unavailable, NFIB State Director Ashley Ranslow underscored the importance of making the federal 20% Small Business Deduction permanent to prevent a massive tax hike on Main Street business owners:
“Although many small business owners want to create new, good-paying jobs, they simply can’t find qualified applicants. Owners are increasingly frustrated as attempts to fill needed positions repeatedly stall and cost pressures continue to rise. New York is already an expensive state to do business in, and small businesses are still facing a massive federal tax hike next year. Congress must make the Small Business Deduction permanent and provide some certainty in this difficult economy.”
Overall, 62% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in August, up five points from July. Fifty-six percent (90% of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Thirty-one percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 25% reported none.
Thirty-six percent have openings for skilled workers (up four points) and 15% have openings for unskilled labor (down one point).
Job openings in construction were up five points from July and over half of them (60%) have a job opening they can’t fill. Job openings were the highest in the transportation, construction, and manufacturing sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors.
A seasonally adjusted net 13% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, down two points from July.
Labor cost reported as the single most important problem for business owners was unchanged at 9%, four points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.
Seasonally adjusted, a net 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in August, unchanged from July and the lowest reading since April 2021. A net 20% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up two points from July.
CLICK HERE to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report.
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For 80 years, NFIB has been the voice of small business, advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit www.NFIB.com.
