Sign In
Upcoming Event
Free Newsletter
PHOTO/GETTY IMAGES
NFIB reports slight decline in June Jobs Report
Stacy Wescoe//July 6, 2026//
Jobs remained relatively flat in June, according to the NFIB‘s June Jobs Report.
The report showed that the Small Business Employment Index registered at 100.2 in June after coming in at 100.3 in May.
While small, the NFIB said this is the fourth consecutive month the Index declined.
The current reading is below the 2025 average of 101.2 but still slightly above the historical average of 100.0.
In June, 32% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill. That’s up 3 points from May’s lowest level since May 2020.
An unchanged 27% of small businesses have openings for skilled workers and 12% have openings for unskilled labor, which is up 3 points.
NFIB Pennsylvania State Director Greg Moreland commented on the latest report.
“As our country celebrates 250 years of independence this weekend, Pennsylvania small businesses continue to demonstrate what hard work can achieve,” Moreland said. “Despite ongoing hiring challenges, Pennsylvania small businesses remain committed to strengthening our workforce and creating jobs in their communities.”
A seasonally adjusted net 11% of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up 2 points from May.
Plans to hire are currently at its historical average of a net 11%.
Overall, 62% of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in June, up 7 points from May. Fifty-one percent of owners (84% of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill (up 5 points). Twenty-seven percent reported few qualified applicants (up 3 points), and 24% reported none (up 2 points).
In June, 19% of small business owners cited “labor quality or availability” as their single most important problem, up 6 points from May’s lowest level since December 2016.
While reports of labor quality or availability as the single most important problem rose in June, reports of labor costs eased.
Eight percent of business owners reported labor costs as their single most important problem, down 6 points from May’s historic high.
