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., Dec. 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 33% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in November, up 1 point from October and the first increase since June. Unfilled job openings remain above the historical average of 24%.

“Small business owners are still having a hard time filling their open positions, but it’s not for a lack of trying. Across the county, nearly one in five owners have plans to create jobs in the next three months, if only they can just find the right people to fill them. And apparently it’s even more difficult here in Oregon, where we have a higher-than-average unemployment rate and two people collecting unemployment benefits for every job opening, compared to national data that shows more of a one-to-one ratio.”

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

“The economy has continued to grow steadily despite the recent government shutdown. On Main Street, job growth continues to be constrained by a lack of qualified employees.”

Highlights from the Latest NFIB Jobs Report

• A seasonally adjusted net 19% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up 4 points from October and the highest reading of the year. The last time hiring plans reached this level was in December 2024.
• In November, 21% of small business owners cited labor quality as their single most important problem, down 6 points erasing most of October’s sudden increase.
• Labor costs, reported as the single most important problem by small business owners, remained at 8%.
• Seasonally adjusted, a net 26% of small business owners reported raising compensation in November, unchanged from October. A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up 5 points from October. The last time plans to raise compensation were at this level was in December 2024.

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
1149 Court Street NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-364-4450
NFIB.com
X: NFIB_OR