The NFIB has just released their employment report for October. It is consistent with other reports we are seeing this week.
William C. Dunkelberg, chief economist for the NFIB, issued the following statement:
“Once again, the ‘good news’ is less bad news. Small business owners in October reported a decline in average employment per firm of 0.5 workers (seasonally adjusted) during the third quarter (prior three months to the survey), a marked improvement from the losses of about 0.8 employees reported in the prior three months and much better than the record loss of 1.26 workers posted in May.
“Eight percent of the owners increased employment by an average of 3.5 workers per firm, but 19 percent reduced employment an average of 4.2 workers per firm (seasonally adjusted); both statistics are better than September readings. The ‘job generating machine’ is still in reverse. Sales are not picking up, so survival requires continuous attention to costs and labor costs loom large. An increase in the minimum wage of more than 10 percent was hardly helpful, as teen unemployment has surged (over 440,000 jobs lost since April, the teen unemployment rate rose to 25.9 percent). Still, job reductions are fading and job creation will cross the zero line by the end of the year. Eight percent (seasonally adjusted) reported unfilled job openings, unchanged from August and September.
“Over the next three months, 16 percent plan to reduce employment (unchanged), and 9 percent plan to create new jobs (up 2 points), yielding a seasonally adjusted net negative 1 percent of owners planning to create new jobs, a 3 point improvement, but still more firms are planning to cut jobs than planning to add.”