The National Federation of Independent Businesses’ June Jobs Report showed the Small Business Employment Index remained essentially flat, registering 100.2 in June after measuring 100.3 in May.

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.

In June, 32 percent (seasonally adjusted) of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill, up three points from May’s lowest level since May 2020. Twenty-seven percent have openings for skilled workers (unchanged), and 12 percent have openings for unskilled labor (up three points).

“Main Street job openings are starting to pick up after a decline in May,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “While more small businesses are looking to hire, many owners still cannot find qualified workers.”

A seasonally adjusted net 11 percent of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, up two points from May. Plans to hire are currently at its historical average of a net 11 percent.

Overall, 62 percent of owners reported hiring or trying to hire in June, up seven points from May. Fifty-one percent of owners (84 percent of those hiring or trying to hire) reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill (up five points). Twenty-seven percent reported few qualified applicants (up three points), and 24 percent reported none (up two points).

In June, 19 percent of small business owners cited “labor quality or availability” as their single most important problem, up six 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 six points from May’s historic high reading.

In June, both labor-compensation measures declined. A seasonally adjusted net 28 percent reported raising compensation, down three points from May and the lowest reading of the year. A net 17 percent (seasonally adjusted) plan to raise compensation in the next three months, down one point from May.