In December, 33% of small business owners reported having job openings they could not fill, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). This figure remains unchanged from November and is still above the historical average of 24%. Openings for skilled workers increased by 2 percentage points to 28%, while openings for unskilled labor decreased by 2 points to 10%.
Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg commented on the situation, stating, “The economic climate continues to support the small business labor market. Although employment conditions vary, fewer owners report labor as their biggest challenge while compensation pressures are escalating.”
Plans for job creation have declined slightly. A seasonally adjusted net 17% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, which is down by two percentage points compared to November.
The report also found that 53% of owners were hiring or trying to hire in December, a decrease of three points from the previous month. Of those hiring or attempting to hire, 91% said they had few or no qualified applicants. Specifically, 25% reported few qualified applicants—a drop of five points—while those reporting no qualified applicants rose by three points to 23%.
Labor quality was cited as the single most important problem by 19% of small business owners in December, a decrease of two points from November. The share identifying labor costs as their top concern rose one point to 9%.
Compensation pressures are increasing among small businesses. Seasonally adjusted data show that a net 31% reported raising compensation in December—up five points from November. Plans to raise compensation in the next three months remained steady at a net 24%, with no change from November.
The full NFIB Jobs Report can be accessed online.
