FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Suzanne Budge, Idaho State Director, sbs@sbsidaho.com or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

BOISE, Idaho, March 7, 2024-For once, a few rays of sunlight are poking through the overcast economic skies that have hung around too long. The state’s largest and leading small business association today thanked Gov. Brad Little for signing House Bill 428 into law yesterday, and today’s improved Jobs Report from NFIB provided a nice complement to that.

“It’s always important to remind people that only employers pay unemployment insurance taxes, so getting a 20% reduction is huge, especially for smaller enterprises,” said Suzanne Budge, Idaho state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). “I also want to thank Senators Kevin Cook and Jim Guthrie and Representatives Matt Bundy and James Holtzclaw for shepherding HB 428 through the legislative process. The biggest beneficiaries of their work are the people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. It is a solvent unemployment insurance trust fund that provides them with the benefits to see them through a rough patch. Reducing the tax on employers allows them to hire more and revisit plans to expand their businesses. If you really want an appreciation of how important a solvent and well-run a state unemployment insurance trust fund is, just look at the mess California has created with its.”

Budge also welcomed today’s Jobs Report from NFIB showing an improving picture on small business hiring. “Finally, after months and months of struggle finding employees, it looks like that may be turning ever so slightly, but we’re keeping the champagne on ice.”

From NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg “Job openings among small businesses decreased in February to pre-pandemic levels,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Employment activity has lessened somewhat as it becomes easier for owners to find qualified workers. Even with this slowdown, labor demand remains strong.”

Released on the first Thursday of every month, NFIB’s Jobs Report is one of the 10 components of the association’s Small Business Economic Trends report (aka the Optimism Index), which is released the second Tuesday of every month. The Jobs Report is a national snapshot not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs 5-9 people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.

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For 80 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. NFIB Idaho 802 W. Bannock Ste. 301 Boise, ID 83702 208-345-6632 NFIB.com/ID Twitter: @NFIB_ID