Small businesses can expect no help from the Legislature as session draws to a close
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
DENVER, May 2, 2024—Release today of NFIB’s monthly Jobs Report showed little variation on a very tiring theme being played along the nation’s Main Streets: 40% of all owners reported jobs openings they could not fill.
Although bigger national issues are at play, Tony Gaglardi, Colorado state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said the negative effect of local forces can’t be denied or dismissed. “Colorado small business owners maintain hope the Legislature can remember a goal of good governance is to lower the price of doing business, not pass policy that raises costs for the state’s job creators.”
From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg
“Hiring plans among small businesses increased once again in April, but open positions remain largely unfilled as owners struggle month after month to find employees. Overall, small businesses are not reporting net gains in employment as wage pressures and inflation keep the labor market tight.”
The Jobs Report is a national snapshot of NFIB-member, small-business owners not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs 10 people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.
Highlights from Today’s Report
- Overall, 56% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in April, unchanged for the third consecutive month.
- Of those hiring or trying to hire, 91% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-eight percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions (down one point) and 23% reported none (up four points).
- Seasonally adjusted, a net 38% reported raising compensation, unchanged from March. A net 21% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, also unchanged from March.
Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/CO and on Twitter @NFIB_CO
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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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Twitter: @NFIB_CO
