NFIB’s October jobs report shows an increase in hiring, with plans to create jobs rising 1 point to 18% (seasonally adjusted) and the percent of owners reporting hiring or trying to hire in October increasing 5 points to 56%.
“In a reversal from last month, hiring and compensation picked up for small business owners in October,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “The desire to create new jobs and increase wages is there, but the challenge of finding qualified workers remains a persistent barrier for Main Street.”
Added Anthony Smith, state director for NFIB in Oregon, “It’s nice to see the national job numbers moving in a positive direction, but Oregon’s unemployment rate is still in the bottom five of all U.S. states. With elections now behind us and a new class of policymakers preparing for the 2027 Oregon legislative session, the state’s business environment has to be a top priority if we are going to get Oregonians back to work.”
The Small Business Employment Index, which measures the current state of the small business labor market, rose 0.2 points in October to 100.8, below the 2025 average of 101.2 but above the historical average of 100.0.
- Seasonally adjusted 36% of owners reported job openings they could not fill in October, up 4 points from September and 12 points above the historical average. Thirty-one percent have openings for skilled workers (up 4 points), and 15% have openings for unskilled labor (down 1 point).
- Forty-eight percent (86% of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-eight percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions and 20% reported none.
- The percent of small business owners reporting the quality or availability of labor as their top operating problem decreased 1 point from September to 25%, 13 points above the historical average of 12%. Seven percent of owners reported labor costs as the single most important issue, up 1 point from September’s lowest level since December 2020.
- Seasonally adjusted, a net 29% of small business owners reported raising compensation in October, up 1 point from September. A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, up 4 points from September and the highest level since December 2025.
Click here to view the entire NFIB Jobs Report.
