Small-business owners are having a tough time filling job openings

There are plenty of jobs out there for those willing to work. Just ask employers, who apparently can’t fill the job listings they have published.

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) issued a January jobs report that shows 35% of small-business owners said they cannot fill job openings they are posting. The industries with the biggest challenges include transportation, construction and manufacturing.

The sticky market is hitting Florida as well. “The tight labor market continues to be a challenge for Florida’s small businesses, but owners are working hard to raise wages and attract qualified employees,” NFIB Florida Executive Director Bill Herrle said.

No specific Florida numbers were available. But the national trend reflects the Sunshine State’s sluggish ability to fill positions, Herrle said.

Nationally, some 52% of small-business owners said they were hiring more workers or were trying to hire more employees in January. That figure is down by 3 points from December. Some 47% of those employers said they can’t find qualified prospects for the open positions. Another 24% business owners said they had few qualified applicants and 23% said they had no qualified prospects.

Of the job openings being published, 29% of employers said they are for skilled positions, which is the same percentage as December. Another 10% have vacancies for unskilled positions, which is a 3-point drop from December’s figure, according to NFIB.

Still, 18% of those employers surveyed said they plan to create new jobs within the next three months, a 1-point drop from December.

On the flip side, the lack of qualified candidates for open jobs has resulted in some employers considering better compensation for workers. Some 33% of small-business owners say they raised pay and perks in January, which is a 4-point increase from December’s figure, which was the lowest since March 2021. Another 20% said they plan to raise pay and benefits in the next three months, a figure that dropped by 4 points from December.