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., July 2, 2026—From NFIB Oregon State Director Anthony Smith on today’s release of NFIB’s June Jobs Report showing the Small Business Employment Index remaining essentially flat, registering 100.2 in June after measuring 100.3 in May. This is the fourth consecutive month the Index declined. The current reading is below the 2025 average of 101.2 but still slightly above the historical average of 100.0.

“Nationally, it looks like small business owners might be ready to start hiring again, but they are still controlling costs by pausing plans to increase employee compensation. Nowhere is that felt more acutely than in Oregon, where our minimum wage increases occur annually and automatically on July 1. This year, the inflation-adjusted wage increase amounts to 50 cents per hour, per employee, whether small businesses can afford additional labor costs or not.”

The NFIB Small Business Employment Index is a 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.

From NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg

“Main Street job openings are starting to pick up after a decline in May. While more small businesses are looking to hire, many owners still cannot find qualified workers.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• Overall, 62% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in June, up 7 points from May. Fifty-one 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 (up 5 points). Twenty-seven percent reported few qualified applicants (up 3 points), and 24% reported none (up 2 points).
• In June, both labor compensation measures declined. A seasonally adjusted net 28% reported raising compensation, down 3 points from May and the lowest reading of the year. A net 17% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down 1 point from May.

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.

National Federation of Independent Business
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Salem, OR 97301
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