WASHINGTON, D.C., July 31, 2014 — Chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) William C. Dunkelberg, issued the following statement on July’s job numbers, based on NFIB’s monthly economic survey that will be released on Tuesday, August 12, 2014. The survey was conducted in July and reflects the responses of 1,645 sampled NFIB members:
THIS REPORT COMPARES JULY FINDINGS TO JUNE FIGURES.
“NFIB owners increased employment by an average of 0.01 workers per firm in July (seasonally adjusted), the tenth positive month in a row and the best string of gains since 2006. Seasonally adjusted, 13 percent of the owners (up 1 point) reported adding an average of 2.9 workers per firm over the past few months. Offsetting that, 12 percent reduced employment (down 1 point) an average of 2.7 workers, producing the seasonally adjusted net gain of 0.01 workers per firm overall, hardly different from flat, but still positive.
“The remaining 75 percent of owners made no net change in employment. Fifty-three percent of the owners hired or tried to hire in the last three months and 42 percent reported few or no qualified applicants for open positions.
“Twenty-four percent of all owners reported job openings they could not fill in the current period (down 2 points) but a solid reading. Fifteen percent reported using temporary workers, up a point.
“Job creation plans continued to strengthen and rose 1 percentage points to a seasonally adjusted net 13 percent, the best reading since September, 2007. Not seasonally adjusted, 16 percent plan to increase employment at their firm (down 2 points), and 6 percent plan reductions (up 1 point).
“On a seasonally adjusted basis, job creation plans improved and job openings held at a solid level. Actual job creation remained positive, although modestly so. Job gains will be less than June, likely in the 200,000 neighborhood. And the unemployment rate should remain steady based on job creation, not changes in labor force participation.”
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