The number of small business owners in Maine having trouble finding employees is above the historical average, even though many are raising pay, according to a December jobs report.
A third of Maine’s small business owners are having trouble filling job openings for both skilled and unskilled positions, according to a report from the Maine division of the National Federation of Independent Business, a nonprofit advocacy group headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.
The 33% figure for December, unchanged from November, is above the historical average of 24%.
Struggling
“Unfortunately, Maine small business owners are struggling to fill open positions,” said David Clough, the federation’s Maine director.
The struggle is resulting in plans to create fewer new jobs. A seasonally adjusted net 17% of business owners plan to create new jobs in the next three months, down 2 points from November. And fewer owners reported hiring or trying to hire in December.
Of those hiring or trying to hire, nearly half reported fewer or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill.
In December, a fifth of small business owners cited labor quality and costs as their most important problems, even though nearly a third said they raised their compensation and a quarter said they would raise compensation in the next three months.
The report was based on survey responses from 429 federation members.
Mixed picture
But the employment picture is mixed, the report says. Along with increased compensation pressures and slowed hiring plans, the number of job levels is elevated but stable and fewer companies are reporting labor as their biggest challenge.
The report aligns with a March 2025 analysis, commissioned by Readfield-based Maine Jobs Council and done by Washington, D.C., consultant Porter Development Initiative, that showed Maine is not attracting new employment at the same rates as other states.
