Friday, February 04, 2022

Half of US SMEs raised salaries in January amid tightening labour market
Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist


Reade Pickert
February 04 2022

A record 50pc of US small-business owners said they raised compensation in January amid still-elevated job openings, the National Federation of Independent Business said yesterday

With some 47pc of small businesses reporting job openings last month they weren’t able to fill, employers have been raising wages to attract skilled candidates – a trend that doesn’t appear to be reversing any time soon.


Over a quarter of small businesses are planning to raise compensation in the next three months, still historically high but lower than the record high seen in the previous three months, NFIB data show.

“Small-business owners are managing the reality that the number of job openings exceeds the number of unemployed workers, producing a tight labour market and adding pressure on wage levels,” Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB’s chief economist, said.

“Reports of owners raising compensation continues at record-high levels to attract applicants to their open positions.”


The share of firms that raised compensation was the largest in monthly data back to 1986 and up two points from December.

And despite the surge in Covid-19 infections in January, 59pc of small employers reported hiring or trying to hire.

A net 26pc of owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months.

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