Unfilled job openings increase as labor market remains tight

NFIB’s October jobs report found that 35% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in October, up one point from September’s lowest reading since January 2021. The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top operating problem rose three points from September to 20%.

“On Main Street, the job market remains challenging,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Although the labor market appears to be softening overall, small business owners reported little success filling their plentiful vacancies in October.”

Although state-specific data is unavailable, NFIB Delaware State Director Mike O’Halloran said, “Delaware’s small businesses continue to hire and create jobs, but the labor market remains a consistent challenge for them. Owners are also concerned about an upcoming tax hike that would further hurt their ability to hire – that’s why it’s so important that Congress makes the Small Business Deduction permanent.”

Overall, 53% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in October, down six points from September. Forty-six percent (87% 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 21% reported none.

Thirty-one percent have openings for skilled workers (up one point) and 14% have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged).

Job openings were the highest in the construction, transportation, and wholesale sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors. However, job openings in construction were down four points from last month with 49% having an open position they can’t fill.

A seasonally adjusted net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, unchanged from September.

Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners fell one point to 8%, five points below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021.

Seasonally adjusted, a net 31% of small business owners reported raising compensation in October, down one point from September and the lowest reading since April 2021. A net 23% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, unchanged from September.

Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report.