Jobs Report
The NFIB Research Foundation has collected Small Business Economic Trends data with quarterly surveys since 1974 and monthly surveys since 1986. Survey respondents are drawn from NFIB’s membership. The survey was conducted in June 2025 and reflects a random sample of 10,000 small-business owners/members.
NFIB Jobs Report: Job Openings Remain a Challenge for Main Street in June
NFIB’s June jobs report found that 36% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in June, up two points from May.
Despite the slowing labor market, many small business owners are still looking to attract applicants and hire for their open positions. Compensation pressures remain strong for those owners who are competing to retain and attract talent in their business.
– Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist
Overall, 58% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in June, up three points from May. Fifty percent (86% of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-five percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 25% reported none.
Thirty percent have openings for skilled workers (unchanged) and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged for the fifth consecutive month).
Job openings were the highest in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries, and the lowest in the finance and agriculture industries.
A seasonally adjusted net 13% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up one point from May.
The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top operating problem remained at 16%, unchanged from May. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners rose one point from May to 10%.
Seasonally adjusted, a net 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in June, up seven points from May, and the largest monthly increase since January 2020. A net 19% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down one point from May.
Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report
The full Small Business Economic Trends report will be released on Tuesday, July 8th.
