(Des Moines, IA) -- There are some economic rays of sunshine on the Iowa horizon, despite the pandemic. -That according to a National Federation of Independent Business jobs report. Iowa NFIB Director Matt Everson says more than 50-percent of their members say they are trying to hire new employees, and having trouble finding enough workers. He says that was an issue before the pandemic, and a sign that the economy is thriving despite COVID-19.
The NFIB's monthly jobs report for November finds 53% reported hiring or trying to hire in November, down 2 points from the previous month. A seasonally adjusted net 21% of owners are planning to create new jobs in the next 3 months, up 3 points from October.
“This survey shows that our small business owners here in Iowa feel better about where the economy is headed,” says Everson. “Let’s not forget that the service and retail industries continue to suffer, according to another recent NFIB survey, however, with the recent news from Gov. Kim Reynolds that nearly 200,000 vaccines will be here in Iowa this month, small business owners should feel optimistic that the economy will rebound to the levels we saw pre-pandemic.”
The latest report finds 34-percent (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, up 1 point from October’s reading. Eighty-nine percent of those owners trying to hire reported few or no “qualified” applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. Twenty-seven percent of owners reported few qualified applications for their positions and 20% reported none.
Twenty-nine percent of owners have openings for skilled labor and 13% have openings for unskilled labor.
Forty-two percent of the job openings in construction are for skilled workers, down 2 points. Fifty-three percent of construction firms reported few or no qualified applicants and 37% cited the shortage of qualified labor as their top business problem.
A net 24% (seasonally adjusted) of owners reported raising compensation and a net 20% plan to do so in the coming months. The labor market is tight, and owners cannot find qualified workers to fill open positions.
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