Hiring
Hiring activity at small businesses cooled in September, and owners who did try to fill jobs kept running into the same problem: a shortage of qualified candidates. In its monthly Small Business Economic Trends survey, released Oct. 13, the National Federation of Independent Business said 51% of owners hired or tried to hire in September, down 5 points from August. Of those hiring or trying to hire, 87% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.
That 87% describes only the owners who were hiring. Measured against all owners surveyed, 45% reported few or no qualified applicants, down 2 points from August. Twenty-five percent said they had few qualified applicants and 20% said they had none.
Openings and plans
A seasonally adjusted 32% of owners reported job openings they could not fill in September, down 3 points from August but still 8 points above the survey’s historical average. Twenty-seven percent had openings for skilled workers, down 4 points, while 16% had openings for unskilled labor, up 3 points.
Looking ahead, a seasonally adjusted net 17% of owners said they plan to create new jobs over the next three months, unchanged from August. That is a net figure, the share planning to add jobs minus the share planning cuts. It does not mean small-business employment will grow 17%.
NFIB’s Employment Index, built from six labor-market components of the survey, fell 1.2 points to 100.6. That is below its 2025 average of 101.2 but slightly above its historical average of 100.0.
Labor is the top complaint
Twenty-six percent of owners named labor quality or availability as their single most important business problem, up 3 points and the most common answer for the third month in a row. NFIB called that a historically high level, 14 points above the 12% historical average. Labor costs were a different story: only 6% named them as their top problem, the lowest share since December 2020. Inflation was the second most-cited problem at 20%, up 4 points.
On pay, a seasonally adjusted net 28% of owners reported raising compensation, down 3 points from August, while a net 20% plan raises in the next three months, up 2 points. NFIB said both measures are above their historical averages.
A cooler mood overall
The broader Small Business Optimism Index fell 0.8 point to 97.9, just below its 52-year average of 98.0. NFIB’s Uncertainty Index rose 1 point to 90, far above its historical average of 68. Only 7% of owners said it was a good time to expand, down 5 points.
Why it matters for job seekers
The survey describes small employers that are trying to hire somewhat less often but still struggle when they do, especially for skilled roles. For qualified candidates, that points to continued demand at small firms, even though openings for skilled workers eased in September. The drop in owners actively hiring, together with low expansion plans, suggests those firms are filling specific gaps rather than broadly adding staff.
The catch
The survey reflects NFIB members, not all U.S. small businesses. NFIB said it drew a sample of 5,000 members and received 411 usable responses, a response rate of 8.2%. The figures are owners’ reports and plans, not counts of hires or payroll employment, and a few points of month-to-month movement can reflect sampling noise as much as real change.
Sources
- NFIB Research Center, “NFIB Small Business Economic Trends,” September 2026 survey, released October 13, 2026. https://www.nfib.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/NFIB-SBET-Report-September-2026.pdf
- ABA Banking Journal, report on the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, October 13, 2026. https://bankingjournal.aba.com/?p=68219
Featured photo: Shops line Bankhead Street, the main street through downtown New Albany, Mississippi, in September 2017. Representative image; not businesses named in the NFIB survey. Photo: Timberwolf62, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0). Cropped from the original.
