Congress could settle at least one issue in this election year of great uncertainty
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Budge, Idaho State Director, [email protected]
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
BOISE, Idaho, Sept. 5, 2024—Unfilled job openings continue to bedevil the nation’s Main Street entrepreneurs, according to the latest Jobs Report put out monthly by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association. But in an election year of great uncertainty, Congress could do at least one thing that would give the nation’s small business owners a badly needed peace of mind.
“The situation on the employment front is not as bad here (our Jobs Report is a national snapshot, not broken down by state) as it is nationally because of the superior state policies we have in place,” said Suzanne Budge, state director for NFIB in Idaho. “That has alleviated some small business worries, but the biggest peace of mind our Main Street entrepreneurs need more than anything is for Congress to pass the Main Street Tax Act (H.R. 4721, S. 1706), which would keep the 20% Small Business Deduction they currently enjoy from expiring next year. If left undone, 90% of small business owners are facing an immense tax increase.”
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 Idaho small-business news at www.nfib.com/idaho, where this news release can also be found, or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_ID.
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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 our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
NFIB Idaho
802 W. Bannock Ste. 301
Boise, ID 83702
208-345-6632
Web page : NFIB.com/ID
Twitter: @NFIB_ID
