Half of all small-business owners reported job openings they could not fill, a record high reading, according to the August National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) monthly jobs report. The number of unfilled job openings (50 percent) has remained far above the 48-year historical average of 22 percent.
“Small employers are struggling to fill open positions and find qualified workers, resulting in record high levels of owners raising compensation,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said in a release. “Owners are raising compensation in an attempt to attract workers, and these costs are being passed on to consumers through price hikes for goods and services, creating inflation pressures.”
According to the jobs report, 66 percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in August, up 5 points from July. A seasonally adjusted net 32 percent of small-business owners are planning to create new jobs in the next few months, up five points to a 48-year record high reading. The 48-year historical average is 11 percent.
Finding qualified workers remains a problem, with 91 percent of those small-business owners hiring or trying to hire reporting few or no “qualified” applicants (31 percent reported few qualified applicants and 29 reported none, a 48-year record high.)
The number of small-business owners who reported raising compensation is up 3 points from July to a net 41 percent (seasonally adjusted) and a record high reading. A net 26 percent plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down one point from July’s record high reading.
Ten percent of owners cited labor costs as their top business problem, and 28 percent said that labor quality was their top business problem, up two points from July. Both are record high readings.