WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 6, 2025) – NFIB Research Center Executive Director Holly Wade joined Brad Smith of Yahoo! Finance to discuss the April Jobs Report and challenges facing small businesses.

Wade shared data from NFIB’s April Jobs Report and outlined current obstacles small business owners are facing, including labor shortages. Wade also talked about the urgency for Congress to make the 20% Small Business Tax Deduction permanent.

Watch Wade’s interview here: https://youtu.be/9PBHuEfqmYA?feature=shared&t=1504

“So, the labor shortage for a number of industries is still historically very high. And, that includes construction, transportation, manufacturing. They’ve been having a hard time finding and attracting qualified applicants for historically high levels of job openings over the last number of years, but it has continued into 2025 and there doesn’t seem to be much sight at the end of the road for them. Unfortunately, they have a lot of demand, they have a lot of work on the books. It’s just filling those positions is becoming very difficult for them.”

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“[Small business owners] are looking for permanency for those [Tax Cuts and Jobs Act] provisions that are set to expire at the end of 2025, especially the 20% Small Business Deduction that’s been so helpful for them to retain more profits, reinvest those profits into their business. Especially over the last number of years, where economic conditions have been quite a roller coaster for a lot of them, including trying to absorb high inflation, that are impacting their business. We still hear from a good number of small business owners saying inflation is a driving factor, big problem for them in operating their business. So, retaining those savings through the TCJA from 2017 will go a long ways in helping them and avoid a tax increase in 2026.”

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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 nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. 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.