The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) released its October jobs report, revealing that 35% of small business owners had job openings they could not fill. This marks an increase from September and is the highest since January 2021. The percentage of small business owners citing labor quality as their top operating problem rose to 20%, up three points from September.

"On Main Street, the job market remains challenging," stated NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. He noted that despite signs of a softening labor market overall, small business owners found little success in filling vacancies during October.

The report showed that 53% of small business owners were hiring or attempting to hire in October, a decrease of six points from the previous month. Of those trying to hire, 46% reported few or no qualified applicants for their open positions—25% cited few qualified applicants while 21% reported none.

There was a slight increase in openings for skilled workers at 31%, while openings for unskilled labor remained unchanged at 14%. Job openings were most prevalent in construction, transportation, and wholesale sectors but least common in agriculture and finance. Notably, construction saw a decline with only 49% having an open position they couldn’t fill compared to last month.

A net seasonally adjusted figure shows that 15% of owners plan to create new jobs within the next three months, consistent with September's figures. Labor costs as the primary concern fell slightly to 8%, down from December 2021's peak reading of 13%.

Additionally, a net seasonally adjusted figure indicates that compensation was raised by 31% of small business owners in October—down one point from September—and plans to raise compensation over the next three months remain steady at a net rate of 23%.

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