SMB Labor Poll: Temporary Hiring Hits New High, F-T Hires Sink To New Low

Alignable’s August Small Business Labor Report has just been released, and it reflects a drop in permanent, full-time hiring to just 25%, a record low. 

But it also shows that small business owners are investing more in temporary hires, breaking a new record: 32% – a surge of 11 percentage points over June. 

These findings are based on a poll of 4,619 randomly selected small business owners surveyed from 7/2/23 to 7/31/23, along with historic poll results from 80,000+ SMB owners over the past 18 months.

SMB employers say they’re trying to boost sluggish revenues while dodging the added expenses of full-time staffers. Here’s a summary of other report highlights:

Revenue & Economic Concerns Drive Hiring Shifts:

• 26% are still most concerned about inflation, but nearly as many – 24% – now list revenue generation as their No. 1 worry. 
• Economic instability with declining margins, rising interest rate pressures, and rent spikes are fueling these changes.

Many Industries See Jump In Temporary Hiring

• Gyms lead with 46% hiring part-timers (up from 22% in June).
• Industries including beauty, restaurants, transportation, finance, retail, and construction show notable rises, too.

Many States Reflect The Same Trend

• Colorado leads with 49% hiring temporary workers, up 38 percentage points since June.
• Massachusetts, Michigan, and Florida also exhibit strong surges in hiring part-timers and freelancers.
• Illinois shows a steady commitment to temporary hiring with one-quarter of SMBs there hiring only part-timers in both June and July.

To see many more details, read Alignable’s August Small Business Labor Report here. 

Source valuewalk