FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Michael Iosua, Hawaii State Director, miosua@mkadvocacy.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

HONOLULU, Dec. 4, 2025—From NFIB Hawaii State Director Michael Iosua on today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), showing that 33% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in November, up 1 point from October and the first increase since June. Unfilled job openings remain above the historical average of 24%.

“Like their counterparts across the nation, Hawaii’s small business owners are constantly making calculations on how to keep their enterprises solvent into the foreseeable future and are heavily impacted by the state legislature. It’s not at all a stretch of the imagination to say that decisions on hiring, cutting back hours, or laying off workers are in part a direct result on decisions made by lawmakers. So, as a start, it would be good to hear from the Hawaii Legislature that no laws with additional employment mandates will be imposed upon small businesses this year.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report is a national survey of NFIB-member small-business owners, not broken down by state. The typical NFIB member employs between one and nine people and reports gross sales of about $500,000 a year.

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“The economy has continued to grow steadily despite the recent government shutdown. On Main Street, job growth continues to be constrained by a lack of qualified employees.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• The last time hiring plans reached this level was in December 2024.
• In November, 21% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem, down 6 points erasing most of October’s sudden increase.
• Labor costs, reported as the single most important problem by small business owners, remained at 8%.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 26% of small business owners reported raising compensation in November, unchanged from October. A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up 5 points from October. The last time plans to raise compensation were at this level was in December 2024.

Keep up with the latest Hawaii small-business news at www.nfib.com or by following NFIB Hawaii on X @NFIB_HI.

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For over 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.

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