A new report by the National Federation of Independent Businesses shows a record high reading of unfilled job openings among small businesses. The April jobs report shows a record 44 percent of small business owners report having job openings they could not fill, 22 points higher than the 48 year historical average and two points higher than March. NFIB state director Bill Smith says while it’s not a new problem the pandemic has aggravated the challenge of that issue. Smith says the report also shows that 59 percent of small business owners reported hiring or trying to hire in April, up three points from March. Ninety two percent of those owners hiring or trying to hire report few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill in April.
