The drum-tight U.S. labor market continues to set records, as rising compensation at small firms still hasn’t enticed enough workers to fill open positions. That’s according to the November employment report from the National Federation of Independent Business, due out later today.

NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg reports:

Other responses...

Photo: Jose A. Alvarado Jr. for The Wall Street Journal

The drum-tight U.S. labor market continues to set records, as rising compensation at small firms still hasn’t enticed enough workers to fill open positions. That’s according to the November employment report from the National Federation of Independent Business, due out later today.

NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg reports:

Historically large numbers of small businesses are struggling to increase their workforce. Notably, 29 percent said that labor quality was their top business problem, a 48-year record high.

Other responses from business owners in the survey showed a slight easing of the U.S. worker shortage, but still a historically difficult time for firms trying to find willing and able employees, NFIB reports:

Forty-eight percent (seasonally adjusted) of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period, down 1 point from October. The number of unfilled job openings far exceeds the 48-year historical average of 22 percent...
Overall, 60 percent reported hiring or trying to hire in November, down 2 points from October but very strong. Owners’ plans to fill open positions remain at record high levels, with a seasonally adjusted net 25 percent planning to create new jobs in the next three months, down 1 point from October but still the third highest reading in the 48-year history of the survey and well above the historical average reading of a net 11 percent.
Fifty-six percent (93 percent of those hiring or trying to hire) of owners reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill (down 2 points). Thirty percent of owners reported few qualified applicants for their open positions (down 3 points) and 26 percent reported none (up 1 point). The reductions hint at an improvement in labor market conditions, but qualified workers are hard to find.

Business owners seem to be trying the most obvious way to find them. Mr. Dunkelberg notes:

Seasonally adjusted, a net 44 percent reported raising compensation, unchanged from October and a 48-year record high reading...
A net 32 percent plan to raise compensation in the next three months, unchanged from October’s record high reading. Raising compensation is the main resource available for owners to retain their current employees and compete for new talent.

Any new talent thinking about joining the workforce may never have a better moment to seize opportunities.

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James Freeman is the co-author of “The Cost: Trump, China and American Revival.”

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