FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Ronda Wiggers, State Director, rondakwiggers@gmail.com
or Tony Malandra, Senior Media Manager, anthony.malandra@nfib.org

HELENA, Mont., April 2, 2026—From NFIB Montana State Director Ronda Wiggers on today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which showed that in March, 32% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, down 1 point from February. Unfilled job openings remain above the historical average of 24%. Twenty-seven percent have openings for skilled workers (down 1 point), and 12% have openings for unskilled labor (up 2 points).

“Filling job openings has been a consistent difficulty for small business owners, and finding qualified employees even more problematic, which is why state and federal policies that aide in stabilizing businesses as a whole are so very vital to eventually reversing course on the hiring problem. Congress’ making the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent and the Montana Legislature’s lowering of taxes and unemployment insurance rates will go a long way to helping stabilize enterprises in order for them stay open and have jobs to offer.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report is a national survey of NFIB-member small-business owners, not broken down by state. The NFIB Small Business Employment Index is a new measure of the current state of the small business labor market. The Index integrates actual and planned changes in employment and employee compensation into a singular data point. A higher Index reflects an overall tighter labor market; a lower Index reflects an overall weaker labor market.

NFIB’s March Jobs Report shows that the Small Business Employment Index fell 1.9 points to 101.6. Despite the decline, the current reading remains above the 2025 average of 101.2 and the historical average of 100.

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“While small businesses are not hiring extensively, they continue to face difficulties related to labor cost and quality. Despite the current stagnant employment growth, economic conditions could change rapidly.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• A seasonally adjusted net 12% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, unchanged from February and close to the average of net 11%.
• Overall, 52% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in March, down 2 points from February.
• In March, 15% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem unchanged from February and above the historical average of 12%. The last time labor quality reported as the single most important problem was below 15% was in December 2016.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 33% of small business owners reported raising compensation in March, down 1 point from February. A net 18% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down 4 points from February and the lowest reading since July 2025.

Keep up with the latest Montana small business news at www.nfib.com or by following us on X at @NFIB_MT.

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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 our 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 Montana
406-899-9659
rondakwiggers@gmail.com
NFIB.com
X: @NFIB_MT