(The Center Square) – A small business advocate says hiring plans have slowed as employers struggle to find skilled workers.
The National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Employment Index ticked up nearly a point in February.
The survey also found that 33% of small business owners reported job openings they could not fill.
NFIB Illinois State Director Noah Finley said the labor market is tightening.
“It’s a challenge for employers, for small employers to find workers, especially skilled workers,” Finley told The Center Square.
Finley said federal data shows that small business owners are increasing compensation to their employees.
“We’re starting to see that wages are increasing faster than inflation at present. If this trend continues, that will provide real relief for working Americans across the country,” Finley said.
Finley said it is problematic that people in Illinois are dropping out of the work force.
An Illinois machine shop owner suggested that the “hole” in manufacturing could get worse when a state mandate takes effect.
Kyra Tillman is president and owner of BTM Industries in McHenry County.
Tillman said her grandfather started the business in 1963, but workers have become harder to find as the United States put more emphasis on college and less on skilled trades in recent decades
“We’ve got baby boomers going out of the industry and retiring, and there’s just not a lot of workers with skill to take their place,” Tillman told The Center Square.
A state mandate requiring foreign language instruction in high school is scheduled to take effect in 2027.
Tillman said the requirement could force students out of programs focused on the building trades and courses like welding and machining.
“To think that students now are not going to have a choice to take those programs any more because of this foreign language requirement is troubling,” Tillman said.
Tillman said the Manufacturing Pathways Consortium in McHenry County alerted her to the issue.
Senate Bill 3070, filed by state Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, would allow high school students to take career technical education classes instead of a foreign language, starting in 2028.
The measure was assigned to the Illinois Senate Assignments Committee on Jan. 29.
