Small business has a wish list for Congress, Governor Newsom
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Kabateck, California State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 5, 2024—Release today of the National Federation of Independent Business’ latest monthly Jobs Report once again confirms that finding qualified, or any, workers remains an intractable problem for small business owners, so much so that it’s become a new normal.
“The difficulty small business owners have been having with finding workers is something that will take some time to work itself out,” said John Kabateck, state director for NFIB in California. “What would be helpful in the meantime is not to exacerbate the many other problems Main Street entrepreneurs have with running their businesses.”
First and foremost, according to Kabateck, is for Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Certainty Act (H.R. 4721, S. 1706), which would make the 20% Small Business Deduction permanent. Without it, taxes will increase on over 90% of small business owners if Congress fails to act.
Kabateck also called on Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto all the anti-business legislation just sent to him by the State Legislature, including Senate Bill 399, which he called an appalling assault on the free speech rights of employers.
From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg on the Latest Jobs Report
“Job openings on Main Street remain historically high as small business owners continue to lament the lack of qualified applicants for their open positions. Owners have grown understandably frustrated as attempts to fill their workforce repeatedly stall and cost pressures continue to rise.”
Highlights from the Latest Jobs Report
- 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-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.
Keep up with the latest on California small-business news at www.nfib.com/california or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CA or on Facebook @NFIB.CA.
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For 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
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