MNI DATA IMPACT: US Smallbiz Hiring Plans Highest Since Covid

U.S. small businesses hiring plans are the strongest since the Covid-19 lockdown, the National Federation of Independent Business said Thursday, but nearly all employers indicated trouble finding suitable candidates.

Twenty-three percent of managers polled in September plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up from 21% in the prior report and a low of 1% in April.

Even more firms said they were already in a hiring mood. About 56% of business owners said they had attempted to hire more staff in September, up from 52% in August, according to the report.

But 89% of businesses actively hiring last month reported few or no qualified applicants. Roughly 36% of all small business owners reported job openings that were unable to be filled in the current period, with 30% of small business owners reporting few qualified applicants for available jobs and 20% reporting no qualified applicants.

RAISING WAGES

Fears that people would avoid returning to work while they collect richer government benefits during the pandemic is one reason Congress has failed to deliver a new fiscal package that industry groups and the Fed say are vital to sustaining an economic comeback.

Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari said Wednesday that such reports are "overblown" because "there is just a huge imbalance between the number of people out of work and the number of people are available." The moderator of the event then told Kashkari that he was receiving many messages affirming there is trouble finding workers again.

A net 23% of employers said they had raised employee compensation, up from 18% in August. Another 16% said they planned to increase compensation in the coming months, and 9% cited labor costs as their top business problem.