(The Center Square) – A new report shows fewer jobs are available, and small business owners continue to struggle to fill them.
The National Federation of Small Business’ July jobs report revealed the number of small business owners reporting job openings they couldn’t fill reached its lowest level in more than four years.
The report showed 33% of small business owners reported unfilled job openings, down 3 points from June and the lowest level since December 2020. It still remained higher than the historical monthly average of 25%.
Despite fewer job openings, labor quality continued to be the most important problem facing small businesses in July, with 21% citing it as the top issue. That’s 5 points higher than June and the largest increase since August 2025.
Despite state-specific data not being available, NFIB Ohio Assistant State Director Cameron Garczyk called a quality workforce critical to the success of small businesses in the state.
“The tight labor market continues to be a persistent challenge for Ohio’s small business community as owners struggle to find qualified workers for their open positions,” Garczyk said. “Small business owners work hard to keep up with their customers’ demands despite not always having a full staff.”
Overall, 57% of small business owners say they hired or tried to hire in July, down a point from June. Only 29% had openings for skilled workers and 12% had openings for unskilled employees, both down from June.
The report comes less than two weeks after the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services released the state’s unemployment figures for June, which ranked as one of the highest in the nation.
The state’s unemployment rate held steady for the third consecutive month at 4.9%.
That rate is the sixth worst in the country, tying Oregon, New Jersey and Kentucky and falling well above the national average of 4.1%. Only Washington, D.C. (5.9%), Nevada (5.4%), California (5.4%) and Michigan (5.3%) posted worse unemployment figures than Ohio.
The rate came as state employers began hiring again in June after a month of pulling back.
Those new jobs did nothing to help the state’s unemployment rate, which has steadily risen over the past year.
