NFIB: Main Street employment softened slightly in August

NFIB's August jobs report published on Sept. 4 shows the job market in August was slightly softer than July. A seasonally adjusted 35% of owners reported job openings they could not fill, down 1 point from July and 11 points above the historical average. 'As the summer season nears its end, hiring has slowed down on Main Street as fewer small business owners report they expect to create jobs in the coming months,' said NFIB New Jersey State Director Eileen Kean. 'Many of the owners who are hiring continue to report challenges in finding qualified applicants for their open positions.' The Small Business Employment Index declined 0.3 points in August to 101.8, remaining slightly above both the 2025 average of 101.2 and the historical average of 100.0. Overall, 56% of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in August, down 5 points from July. Forty-seven percent (82% of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-nine percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions, and 18% reported none. Thirty-one percent have openings for skilled workers (unchanged), and 13% have openings for unskilled labor (down 1 point). A seasonally adjusted net 17% of owners plan to create jobs in the next three months, down 3 points from July's reading. The percent of small business owners reporting 'labor quality or availability' as their top operating problem fell 4 points from July to 23%, 11 points above the historical average of 12%. Labor costs reported as the single most important problem for business owners fell 1 point from July to 7%, the lowest level since March 2021. Seasonally adjusted, a net 31% of small business owners reported raising compensation in August, unchanged from last month's reading. A net 18% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down 1 point from July.