Small business calls on the governor to borrow a good idea from New Mexico
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tony Gagliardi, Colorado State Director, [email protected],
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, [email protected]
DENVER, July 1, 2021—Today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) showed very little cause for celebration, with one key indicator only slightly dropping and another one rising to demonstrate the desperation some small-business owners are having finding workers.
As of June 30, Colorado was $1 billion in debt to the federal government on the unemployment insurance loans it has taken out to keep unemployment checks going to those out of work. According to Tony Gagliardi, NFIB’s Colorado state director, that means small-business owners are staring huge spikes in their UI taxes … unless.
“Governor Polis would be wise to follow the example of his counterpart in New Mexico and use federal funds coming to Colorado to shore up the state’s Unemployment Trust Fund,” said Gagliardi. “Small-business owners are the ones on the hook for repaying the $1 billion in loans the state took out. Colorado’s small-business community likely will face high double-digit — if not, triple-digit — increases in unemployment insurance taxes, which will be set to take effect January 2022.”
Highlights from the Jobs Report
- According to NFIB’s monthly jobs report, 46% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down two points from May but still above the 48-year historical average of 22%. Small business owners continue to struggle to find qualified workers for their open positions while raising compensation at a record high level.
- A net 39% (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported raising compensation (up five points), a record high. A net 26% plan to raise compensation in the next three months (up four points).
From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg
- “In the busy summer season, many firms haven’t been able to hire enough workers to efficiently run their businesses, which has restricted sales and output,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “In June, we saw a record high percent of owners raising compensation to help attract needed employees and job creation plans also remain at record highs. Owners are doing everything they can to get back to a full, productive staff.”
NFIB’s Jobs Report is a national snapshot not broken down by state. Today’s results were based on 592 respondents to the June survey of a random sample of NFIB’s member firms, surveyed through 6/28/2021. The NFIB Research Foundation has collected Small Business Economic Trends data with quarterly surveys since 1974 and monthly surveys since 1986.
Keep up with the latest Colorado small-business news at www.nfib.com/colorado or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_CO or on Facebook @NFIB.CO
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For 78 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 its founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.
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Denver, CO 80203
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