National Federation of Independent Business (05/04/23)

Small business owners continue to struggle to find workers, with 45% (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reporting job openings they could not fill in the current period, according to the National Federation of Independent Business. The share of owners with unfilled job openings exceeds the 49-year historical average of 23%. Of those hiring or trying to hire, 92% of owners reported few or no qualified applications for the jobs they were trying to fill. Overall, 60% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in April. Twenty-nine percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open jobs and 26% reported none.

The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top small business operating problem remains elevated at 24%, up one point from March. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem to business owners decreased two points to 9%. Small business owners’ plans to fill open roles remain elevated, with a seasonally adjusted net 17% planning to create new jobs in the next three months, up two points from March. A net 40% (seasonally adjusted) reported raising compensation, down two points from March. A net 21% plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down one point from March.

This article originally appeared on nfib.com. Use this link to see the full article: NFIB Jobs Report: Job Openings Remain on Main Street