Job openings fall to pre-pandemic levels
Washington DC (March 7, 2024) – According to the NFIB’s Monthly Employment Report, 37% of all business owners (seasonally adjusted) reported having unfilled jobs in the current period, down 2 percentage points from January, 2021. This was the lowest level since March. Percentage of small business owners reporting labor Quality, the biggest operational issue for small businesses, fell 5 points from January to 16%, the lowest figure since April 2020.
“Small business job openings in February fell to pre-pandemic levels.” Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB Chief Economist. “Hiring activity has eased somewhat as it has become easier for owners to find qualified workers. Despite this economic slowdown, labor demand remains strong.”
Owners' plans to fill open positions continue to slow, with the seasonally adjusted net 12% of new jobs scheduled to be created over the next three months down 2 points from January and the lowest level since May 2020 It becomes.
Labor costs, reported as the most important issue for business owners, rose one point to 11%, just two points below the high of 13% set in December 2021.
Overall, 56% of owners said they hired or were looking to hire in February, up one point from January. Among businesses that are hiring or looking to hire, 91% say there are few or no qualified applicants for the positions they are filling, an increase of 2 percentage points from January. 25% of owners reported that there were few qualified applicants for their open positions (down 1 point) and 26% reported there were none (up 3 points).
On a seasonally adjusted basis, a net 35% reported compensation increases, down 4 percentage points from January and the lowest level since May 2021. A net 19% plan to increase their compensation in the next three months, down 7 points from January and the lowest level since March 2021.
32% have job openings for skilled labor (up 2 points) and 12% have job openings for unskilled labor (down 3 points).
The number of job openings in the construction industry has increased by 6 percentage points since last month, with more than half of the jobs not being filled. The number of job openings was highest in construction, transportation, and wholesale trade, and lowest in agriculture and finance.
View the full job report here.
