WASHINGTON — The December jobs report recently released by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) found that 35% (seasonally adjusted) of small-business owners reported job openings they could not fill last month, down one point from November.
Seasonally adjusted, a net 29% of small-business owners reported raising compensation in December, down three points from November and the lowest reading since March 2021.
“Finding qualified workers remained a major headwind for stronger job growth on Main Street in December,” says NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “In the meantime, compensation increases have softened among small businesses, but remained solid as the year came to an end.”
A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) of small-business owners reported they were planning to raise compensation in the next three months, down four points from November’s highest reading of the year. Labor costs, reported as the single most important problem for business owners, were unchanged from November at 11%, only two points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.
The percentage of small-business owners reporting labor quality as their top operating problem was unchanged from November at 19%.
A seasonally adjusted net 19% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up one point from November.
Overall, 55% of small-business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in December, unchanged from November. Of those owners trying to hire, 49% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-eight percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions, and 21% reported none.
Twenty-nine percent have openings for skilled workers (down one point) and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged).
Job openings were the highest in the transportation, construction and manufacturing sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors. Job openings in construction were down 13 points from last month and down 17 points from the prior year, with 41% reporting an open position they can’t fill.
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