By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The National Federation of Independent Business monthly jobs report shows that it is still tough to find good help right now.
"51% of small business owners reported hiring, or trying to hire, in January," said Kansas State Director Dan Murray. "Small business employers have plans to fill open positions, with a net 17% planning to create new jobs in the next three months."
Small businesses increased employment in January by 0.36 workers per firm on average over the past few months, up from 0.30 in December, a very strong 2 month performance.
"90% of those hiring or trying to hire reported few or no qualified applications," Murray said. "That was the problem heading in to the pandemic and it still persists and one of the things that plagued small business owners throughout the pandemic was the federal extension of unemployment benefits."
When people can make as much or more money working as they can not working, it's hard to get them to apply.
"In the construction sector, that's one of the fields that we've seen a significant boost during the pandemic, a lot of folks staying at home, looking at some of the projects they have at home, remodeling, construction, etc. continue to be strong," Murray said. "44% of the job openings are for skilled workers in the construction area. That's up three points from last month."
Seasonally adjusted, 33% of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, up one point from December.