NFIB Jobs Statement: Six More Weeks of Winter Continues to Impact Small Business Hiring
www.NFIB.com
For Immediate Release
Contact: Kelly Hoffman, 202-314-2054 or [email protected]
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 5, 2014 — Chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) William C. Dunkelberg, issued the following statement on the February job numbers, based on NFIB’s monthly economic survey that will be released on Tuesday, March 11, 2014. The survey was conducted in February and reflects the responses of 792 sampled NFIB members:
THIS REPORT TEXT COMPARES FEBRUARY FINDINGS TO JANUARY FIGURES.
“NFIB owners increased employment by an average of 0.11 workers per firm in February (seasonally adjusted), virtually unchanged from January. Seasonally adjusted, 12 percent of the owners (down 1 point) reported adding an average of 3.0 workers per firm over the past few months. Offsetting that, 10 percent reduced employment (down 1 point) an average of 2.7 workers, producing the seasonally adjusted net gain of 0.11 workers per firm overall. Since the weather in February was about as bad as January, 150,000 new jobs would be a pleasant surprise. The remaining 78 percent of owners made no net change in employment.
“Small business owners continue to struggle when looking for qualified applicants for available jobs. Forty-seven percent of the owners hired or tried to hire in the last three months and 40 percent reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions.
“Twenty-two percent of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period (unchanged). This suggests that the unemployment rate did not change much in February. Thirteen percent reported using temporary workers, down 1 point from January.
“Job creation plans gave up January’s welcome gain, falling 5 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted net 7 percent. Not seasonally adjusted, 17 percent plan to increase employment at their firm (down 1 point), and 4 percent plan reductions (down 1 point).
“Looking forward, winter weather will continue to be a big factor. Data is always seasonally adjusted, but when the weather is “abnormal” as it has been, seasonal adjustments will be off the mark. GDP growth will probably be sluggish in the first quarter and consequently job creation will remain muted, less than 200,000.”
###
Commemorating its 70th anniversary, the National Federation of Independent Business is the nation’s leading small-business association, with offices in Washington, D.C., and all 50 state capitals. Founded in 1943 as a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, NFIB gives small- and independent-business owners a voice in shaping the public policy issues that affect their business. NFIB’s powerful network of grassroots activists sends its views directly to state and federal lawmakers through our unique member-only ballot, thus playing a critical role in supporting America’s free enterprise system. NFIB’s mission is to promote and protect the right of our members to own, operate and grow their businesses. More information about NFIB is available at www.NFIB.com/newsroom.
