NFIB jobs report: Main Street job growth stalls in August

Overall, 62% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in August, up five points from July.

NFIB’s August jobs report found that 40% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August, up two points from July. Labor quality as the top small business operating problem rose two points from July to 21%, the highest level reported since January of this year.

“Job openings on Main Street remain historically high as small business owners continue to lament the lack of qualified applicants for their open positions,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Owners have grown understandably frustrated as attempts to fill their workforce repeatedly stall and cost pressures continue to rise.”

State-specific data is unavailable, but NFIB Indiana State Director Natalie Robinson said, “Despite the decline in filings for unemployment benefits in Indiana last week compared with the week prior, small businesses across the state continue to struggle with an ongoing labor shortage, which is negatively impacting their business operations. Owners still need more qualified applicants to build their staff and reach full productivity.”

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-one percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 25% reported none.

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.

Labor cost reported as the single most important problem for business owners was unchanged at 9%, four points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.

Seasonally adjusted, a net 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in August, unchanged from July and the lowest reading since April 2021. A net 20% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up two points from July.