According to a new report from the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), nearly a third (32 percent) of small businesses report having job openings they couldn’t fill in October.
That number is unchanged since September, NFIB said in its October jobs report. Before August, the last time the unfilled job openings hit 32 percent was December 2020. Of the openings, 28 percent are for skilled workers, and 11 percent are for unskilled labor. Skilled worker openings remains unchanged from September, and unskilled labor openings are down two percent.
“The post-Covid labor market appears to have mostly normalized on Main Street,” NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg said. “Jobs are plentiful albeit declining, while qualified applicants are scarce but increasing for some industries.”
Seasonally adjusted, a net 15 percent of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, down one point from September. The decline is the first since hiring plans started to increase in May 2025. The report said firms are interested in hiring but are finding it difficult to fill openings.
Overall, more than half of the small business owners surveyed (56 percent) said they were hiring or trying to hire in October. That number is down two points from September. Nearly half (49 percent) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for their positions. That represents 88 percent of those hiring or trying to hire. Thirty-one percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for open positions, and 18 percent reported none.
The report said more than a quarter of the small business owners surveyed (27 percent) cited labor quality as their single most important problem. That number is up 9 points from September and is at its second highest level since November 2021.
Labor costs fell three points as the single most important problem for business owners. A net 26 percent of small business owners (seasonally adjusted) said they raised compensation in October, down 5 points from September. A net 19 percent plan to raise compensation in the next three months, the report indicated.