FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Patrick Connor, Washington State Director, patrick.connor@nfib.org,
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

OLYMPIA, Wash., July 31, 2025—From NFIB Washington State Director Patrick Connor on today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), showing that 33% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reporting job openings they could not fill in July, down three points from June and the lowest level since December 2020, though still well above the monthly historical average of 25%.

“The modest downtick in job vacancies nationally is welcome news, but it is still concerning that one in three Main Street employers have jobs they simply cannot fill. The added costs and restrictions the state Legislature has saddled small businesses with this year — the largest tax increase in state history, expanded workers’ compensation, Paid Family & Medical Leave, and unemployment insurance benefits and eligibility, among others — will make it that much harder for Washington’s small employers to increase wages and benefits to attract and retain qualified applicants and employees.

“With an increasingly gloomy economic forecast, the best thing the state Legislature could do next session is provide Main Street some much needed relief to unleash the power of small business to drive economic growth.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report is a national survey of NFIB-member small-business owners, not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs between one and nine people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.

Keep up with the latest Washington state small-business news at www.nfib.com or on X @NFIB_WA or on Facebook @NFIB.WA

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“The challenge of finding qualified workers is easing overall but still remained significant for many small business owners in July. The easing labor market pressures are also reflected in fewer firms raising compensation.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• Job openings were the highest in the construction, wholesale, and transportation industries, and the lowest in the finance and agriculture industries.
• A seasonally adjusted net 14% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up one point from June. This remains above the historical average of net 11%.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 27% of small business owners reported raising compensation in July, down six points from June. A net 17% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down two points from June.
• Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners decreased one point from June to 9%.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven association. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.

NFIB Washington
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