DES MOINES, IOWA (January 7, 2021) — Small-business owners continue to struggle to increase their workforce, with 25% of owners saying labor-quality was their top business problem in December, according to NFIB’s monthly jobs report. Thirteen percent of owners cited labor costs as their top business problem, up three points from November and a 48-year record high.
“Iowa’s legislative is set to begin on Monday, and the top priority for lawmakers must be to continue to build upon an atmosphere in our state that is conducive to economic growth. That means doing what our small business owners here in Iowa feel will help them the most in their post-pandemic recovery: income tax, unemployment insurance, and property tax reform. These prioirities will help Iowa’s economy running full steam for the next decade and beyond,” said Matt Everson, NFIB State Director in Iowa.
Seasonally adjusted, a net 48% reported raising compensation, up four points from November and a 48-year record high reading. A net 32% of owners plan to raise compensation in the next three months, unchanged from November’s record high reading.
Forty-nine percent (seasonally adjusted) of all small business owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period. In construction, 58% of firms have a job opening.
Small-business owners’ plans to fill open positions remain at record high levels with a seasonally-adjusted net 28% planning to create new jobs in the next three months, up three points from November and four points below the highest reading in the 48-year history of the survey set in August.
Overall, 60% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in December, unchanged from November’s report. Ninety-five percent of those owners hiring or trying to hire reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Thirty-one percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 26% reported none.
Thirty-nine percent of owners have openings for skilled workers and 22% have openings for unskilled labor.
Click here to view the full survey.
For more than 75 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington DC and in all fifty state capitals. NFIB is non-profit, non-partisan, 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 www.nfib.com.
