Small Business Owners Thank Governor and Legislature for Teamwork on Important Legislation
Today small business owners across Kansas are thanking the state legislature for working with the governor to pass important legislation that will protect small businesses from frivolous lawsuits. The governor has said she will sign the pandemic reform bill, which contains limited liability protections for small businesses that manufacture or sell personal protective equipment. It also shields small businesses from potential COVID-19 exposure inside their business if the owner takes measures to follow health directives.
“The action by the legislature and the governor to get this bill passed is providing small business owners across the state some much needed peace of mind. A recent NFIB survey found that 70% of small business owners are worried about increased liability surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. They’re already dealing with a host of issues surrounding re-opening and how to keep their employees and customers safe,” said NFIB State Director in Kansas, Dan Murray. “Small business owners can now focus on what they do best: creating jobs and getting Kansas’ economy back up and running.”
The news comes on the heels of NFIB’s new monthly jobs report, which found that the labor market further weakened in May, with firms reducing employment by an average of 0.17 workers per firm. Down from April, 6% of owners reported increasing employment an average 3.3 workers per firm and 21% reported reducing employment an average of 5.1 workers per firm (seasonally adjusted).
A seasonally adjusted net 8% plan to create new jobs, up 7 points from April. However, sales fell sharply in April and May, so this improvement may be temporary. Also seasonally adjusted, 23% of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period. Generous unemployment benefits may be making it harder to fill these positions for some owners.
In May, 44% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire, down three points from last month. Of those trying to hire, 84% reported few or no “qualified” applicants for the positions they were looking to fill. Fifty-one percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants and 37% cited the shortage of qualified labor as their top business problem.
You can find the full report here.
