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

HONOLULU, March 7, 2025—The latest monthly Jobs Report released yesterday by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business association showed job creation weakening in February, its highest reading since last August.

“Two things need to happen if we’re to prevent any back-sliding on the hope for a small business economic recovery that the previous two Jobs Reports, along with NFIB’s recent Small Business Optimism Indexes, held out,” said Michael Iosua, state director for NFIB in Hawaii. “One is Congress must prevent the 20% Small Business Deduction from expiring at the end of the year. The other is the Hawaii Legislature should support small businesses in the state by reducing the number of laws that cause additional operating costs to businesses. It’s sad when we see a cherished local business close its doors due to the cost of doing business here, but few stop to think of the ever-increasing regulations and financial burdens that are put on Hawaii’s businesses that contributed to that result.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report is released the first Thursday of every month. It 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

“Over half of Main Street firms reported hiring or trying to hire in February, but with little success. Meanwhile, consistent compensation increases continue to put pressure on small business owners as they look for qualified workers to fill their many open positions.”

Highlights from the Latest Jobs Report

• 38% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in February, up three points from January and the highest reading since August 2024.
• Job openings were the highest in the retail, construction, and manufacturing sectors, and the lowest in the agriculture and finance sectors. Job openings in construction were up one point from last month, but down seven points from the prior year.
• The percent of small business owners reporting labor quality as their top operating problem rose one point from January to 19%. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners rose three points from January to 12%, only one point below the highest reading of 13% reached in December 2021. The last time labor costs were ranked this high was February 2023.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in February, unchanged from January. A net 18% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down two points from January.

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 more than 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 Hawaii
745 Fort Street Mall 17^th Floor
Honolulu, HI 96813
808-541-9050
NFIB.com/HI
X: @NFIB_HI