Aloha State News

Job vacancies continue to be a significant issue for small businesses, according to the latest Job Report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). The report, released yesterday, revealed that 40% of small business owners reported difficulty in finding workers in March, an increase of two percentage points from February.

The NFIB’s survey involves small-business owners who are members of the organization, with the typical member having one to nine employees and reporting annual sales of around $500,000.

Michael Iosua, the NFIB's state director for Hawaii, expressed relief that certain costly proposals did not advance in the Hawaii State Legislature. "Small business owners have always asked for a period of predictability that allows them to make better calculations in their hiring and business expansion decisions,” Iosua stated.

NFIB's Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg commented on the situation: "With qualified workers in short supply, job openings stayed solid on Main Street in March. As spring progresses, fewer small business owners plan to create new positions, but they are looking to fill current vacancies.”

The report highlighted that job vacancies were most prevalent in the construction, transportation, and manufacturing sectors, while agriculture and wholesale had the fewest. Construction job vacancies increased by ten points from last month and 12 points from March 2024, and transportation vacancies rose 23 points from February to 53%.

Labor quality was identified by 19% of small business owners as their primary concern, unchanged from the previous month. Meanwhile, 11% cited labor costs as the most critical issue, slightly down from previous readings. Despite these challenges, a seasonally adjusted net 38% of small business owners reported raising compensation in March, and 19% plan to do so in the coming months.