NFIB jobs report: Main Street job openings fall to three-year low

The number of small business job openings reaches its lowest level since 2021

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Oct. 3, 2024) – NFIBs The September jobs report found that 34% (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings that they were unable to fill in September, a decline of 6 points from August and the lowest level since January 2021.

“Overall, the job market appears to be weakening,” he said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “As we head into the fall, fewer small companies have openings that they cannot fill. But many still report difficulty finding qualified applicants and salary increase plans are on the rise again.”

Overall, 59% of small business owners reported hiring or attempting to hire new employees in September, down three percentage points from August. Fifty-two percent (90% of those hiring or looking to hire) of owners said there were few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Thirty percent of owners said they had few qualified applicants for their open positions, and 22 percent said they had no applicants.

30 percent have vacancies for skilled workers (minus six points) and 14% have vacancies for unskilled workers (minus one point).

The number of construction job vacancies is down seven percentage points compared to August, and about half of them (53%) have a job vacancy that they cannot fill. Job vacancies were highest in the construction, transportation and manufacturing sectors, and lowest in the agriculture and financial sectors.

Seasonally adjusted, a net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, two points more than in August.

The percentage of small business owners who cited labor quality as their top small business operating issue fell four percentage points to 17% compared to August. Labor costs, reported as the single biggest concern for business owners, remained unchanged at 9%, four points below the peak of 13% reached in December 2021.

Seasonally adjusted, a net 32% of small business owners reported increasing their compensation in September, a one-point decrease from August and the lowest level since April 2021. A net 23% (seasonally adjusted) plan to increase compensation in the next three months, an increase by three points from August.

Click here to view the entire NFIB jobs report.