FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Anthony Smith, NFIB Oregon State Director, anthony.smith@nfib.org
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager anthony.malandra@nfib.org

SALEM, Ore., Feb. 5, 2026—From NFIB Oregon State Director Anthony Smith on today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which inaugurated a new component, a Small Business Employment Index. The new index integrates actual and planned changes in employment and employee compensation into a singular data point.

In January, 31% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in January, down 2 points from December. Unfilled job openings remain above the historical average of 24%. Twenty-five percent have openings for skilled workers (down 3 points), and 10% have openings for unskilled labor (unchanged).

“It’s always beneficial to have a new metric that could assist policymakers with better decisions,” said Smith. “Right now, our focus is on our top five legislative agenda goals in this short session of the Oregon Legislature.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report is a national survey of NFIB-member small-business owners, not broken down by state. The January numbers were based on 959 respondents to a random sample of NFIB member firms, surveyed through 1/30/2026.

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“Main Street continues to search for qualified workers for open positions. Owners reported increased wages over the last three months, alongside plans to increase them in the next three months as well.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• The Employment Index fell nearly 1 point in January to 101.6, erasing about half of the large gain in December, which reached the highest level since March 2025. The Index remains above the historical average of 100, and just slightly above the 2025 average of 101.2. In January, 31.
• In January, 16% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem, down 3 points from December. This is the third consecutive month that labor quality reported as the single most important problem, has declined.
• Labor quality reported as the single most important problem was the highest in the construction, manufacturing, and professional services industries, and lowest in wholesale and finance.

Keep up with the latest Oregon small business news at www.nfib.com or on X at @NFIB_OR

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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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