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 December 2024 and reflects a random sample of 10,000 small-business owners/members.
NFIB Jobs Report: Main Street Labor Costs Ease in December
NFIB’s December jobs report found that 35% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in December, down one point from November. Seasonally adjusted, a net 29% of small business owners reported raising compensation in December, down three points from November and the lowest reading since March 2021.
Finding qualified workers remained a major headwind for stronger job growth on Main Street in December. In the meantime, compensation increases have softened among small businesses, but remained solid as the year came to an end.
– Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist
A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down four points from November’s highest reading of this year. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners was unchanged from November at 11%, only two points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.
The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top operating problem was unchanged from November at 19%.
A seasonally adjusted net 19% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up one point from November.
Overall, 55% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in December, unchanged from November. Forty-nine percent (89% of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-eight percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 21% reported none.
Twenty-nine percent have openings for skilled workers (down one point) and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged).
Job openings were the highest in the transportation, construction, and manufacturing sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors. Job openings in construction were down 13 points from last month and down 17 points from the prior year, with 41% reporting an open position they can’t fill.
Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report
The full Small Business Economic Trends report will be released on Tuesday, January 14th.
