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., Sept. 4, 2025—From NFIB Oregon State Director Anthony Smith on today’s release of the monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), showing that 32% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in August, down 1 point from July. The last time unfilled job openings fell below 32% was in July 2020. Twenty-eight percent have openings for skilled workers (down 1 point), and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (up 1 point).

“Unfilled job openings are at their lowest level in five years, and while nationally, that might signal small business owners are finding it less of a struggle to fill those jobs, here in Oregon there is major cause for concern. Just last week, the state’s chief economist reported that Oregon has shed nearly 25,000 jobs in the last year and now the Oregon Legislature is on the verge of approving the governor’s transportation package, which raises taxes and fees on Oregonians by $4.3 billion over the next 10 years. If it passes, Oregon small business owners are going to have to figure out how to deal with those added costs. Cutting back on hours, or not hiring in the first place, will unavoidably be part of their calculations.”

NFIB’s Jobs Report 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

“While the economy appears to be doing well, small businesses are scaling back on job openings. Small business owners with job openings are still looking for qualified applicants, many citing labor quality as their single most important problem.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• Job openings were the highest in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries, and the lowest in the wholesale and finance industries.
• A seasonally adjusted net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up 1 point from July and the third consecutive monthly increase.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 29% of small business owners reported raising compensation in August, up 2 points from July. A net 20% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up 3 points from July.
• Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners decreased 1 point from July to 8%.

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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