JEFFERSON CITY, MO (June 4, 2026) – NFIB’s May Jobs Report shows little change in the employment market as the Small Business Employment Index remained essentially flat, registering 100.3 in May after measuring 100.4 in April. This is the third consecutive month the Index declined. The current reading is now below the 2025 average of 101.2 but still slightly above the historical average of 100.0.

In May, 29% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, down 5 points from April and marking the lowest level since May 2020. Twenty-seven percent have openings for skilled workers (down 2 points), and 9% have openings for unskilled labor (down 4 points).

“Concerns about rising labor costs increased significantly to the highest reading in the survey’s history,” said Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “Small business owners are facing mounting pressure to retain workers, and many firms are navigating costly new state mandates. While current conditions restrict Main Street’s already-thin profit margins, compensation measures remain steady for now.”

“Small business owners are doing their best to fill their open positions,” NFIB State Director Brad Jones said. “But finding qualified applicants remains a real challenge, and rising costs are making it harder for owners to grow their businesses.”

A seasonally adjusted net 9% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, down 4 points from April and marking the lowest level since May 2020. Plans to hire are now below its historical average of a net 11%.

Overall, 55% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in May, up 2 points from April. Forty-six percent of owners (84% of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill (unchanged). Twenty-four percent reported few qualified applicants (down 2 points), and 22% reported none (up 2 points).

In May, 13% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem, down 5 points from April and marking the lowest level since December 2016. While reports of labor quality as the single most important problem declined in May, reports of labor costs increased to the highest reading in the survey’s history. Fourteen percent of business owners reported labor costs as their single most important problem, up 5 points from April.

While unfilled job openings and hiring plans declined to six-year lows, compensation measures remained largely unchanged. Seasonally adjusted, a net 31% of small business owners reported raising compensation in May, up 1 point from April. A net 18% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, unchanged from April.

Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report.