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Investing April 13, 2001
Small Biz Group Says Rising Jobless Come Fall
April 13, 2001 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Small business
owners had less trouble filling jobs last month, but the
jobless rate could be on the rise as well.
Reported by Camilla Klein
Economists at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), a small-business lobbying group, see the unemployment rate rising to 5% by the fall.
The group reported in their monthly survey of small businesses that during March, more than a quarter (26%) of small business owners surveyed said they had difficult-to-fill job openings. However, that was less than February’s 32% level, a three- year record.
The figures are consistent with other economic indicators such as the recent rise in unemployment insurance claims to five-year highs, last weeks 4.3% March unemployment figure, and the recent fall in help-wanted advertisements.
The NFIB index, which measures factors such as inventory levels and hiring plans, slipped to 97.8 from 98.4 in February, measured against the base year of 1986.