About 1 in 2 small businesses facing hiring struggles

Is your company having a hard time finding the right people to fill job openings? If so, know that you’re not the only one with hiring struggles.

Almost half (46%) of small businesses are having difficulty filling jobs, according to a recent report published by the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB).

The cause of hiring struggles

What’s causing these hiring issues? Many people are hesitant to reenter the workforce due to pandemic-induced mental health struggles, safety concerns, childcare needs and unemployment benefits.

Speakers at the National Association of Credit Management (NACM)’s 2021 Credit Congress & Expo Virtual Plus also explained how stimulus programs are impacting employment rates and, in some cases, making it a challenge to get people back to work.

In restaurants, for example, pay was already quite low, explained Fred Dons of Deutsche Bank. When the world shut down and jobs were put on pause or furloughed, some people started looking for other jobs – and now, they don’t want to come back to their old ones. And in other cases, Dons added, the allowances some are getting from the government could be better than their normal wages.

Martin Zorn of The Kamakura Corporation echoed this sentiment. If people are already getting supplemented from the government, why would they want to work? Zorn also pointed out how much the gig economy has grown in the past year. It’s provided more job opportunities outside of the traditional employment route that many are taking advantage of.

Potential solutions

What can companies who need to fill positions do? It seems the most viable options would be to wait it out or increase incentives and pay.

Some experts predict labor shortages will begin to slow by the end of 2021 and will potentially resolve in 2022. So, if you don’t need your open positions filled immediately, you could wait it out. See how employment rates change over the next year.

However, if your hiring issues are more dire, you may need to increase your wages to attract or bring back some of those workers who are finding better compensation elsewhere, Dons says. Right now, 39% of companies are raising compensation, and 26% plan to in the coming months, per the NFIB report.  

Alternatively, you may find success with increasing your number of job postings or offering incentives, such as continued remote work or unique perks.