Small business owners in Nevada and across the country are continuing to report difficulties in filling open positions, according to the latest monthly Jobs Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The report shows that 32% of small business owners nationally had job openings they could not fill in August, a slight decrease from July. This is the first time since July 2020 that unfilled job openings have fallen below this level.
Twenty-eight percent of surveyed small businesses reported openings for skilled workers, while 13% said they were seeking unskilled labor. Tray Abney, NFIB Nevada State Director, commented on these numbers: “I don’t want to make too much out of a one-point drop from one month to the next, so I’ll be interested to see if next month’s Jobs Report could start to reveal a trend. I’m also looking forward to seeing the results from this coming Tuesday’s Small Business Optimism Index to see if some of the positive signs from last month’s show up again. What the small business economy needs most is some long-awaited traction.”
The NFIB survey does not provide state-specific data but gathers input from members nationwide. Typically, NFIB members employ between one and nine people and report average annual sales around $500,000.
Bill Dunkelberg, Chief Economist at NFIB, noted ongoing challenges: “While the economy appears to be doing well, small businesses are scaling back on job openings. Small business owners with job openings are still looking for qualified applicants, many citing labor quality as their single most important problem.”
The latest Jobs Report highlights several trends: Job vacancies remain highest in construction, manufacturing, and transportation sectors; meanwhile wholesale and finance industries report fewer open positions. A net 15% of owners plan to create new jobs over the next three months—an increase for the third consecutive month—and nearly one-third reported raising compensation in August compared with July.
Labor costs as a top concern dropped slightly among respondents this month.
More information about ongoing developments affecting Nevada’s small businesses can be found at www.nfib.com or by following @NFIB_NV on X.
