The labour shortage of small business owners in the US is worsening, with 51 per cent of small business owners reporting job openings in September, an all-time high, the National Alliance of Independent Enterprises (NFIB) said on Thursday. This forces them to raise wages and take other measures to attract job seekers.

That is up one percentage point from August and well above the average of 22% in the 47 years since NFIB began collecting the data.

Due to difficulties in recruiting workers, 42% of the small business owners surveyed raised their wages, also reaching an all-time high. 30% of small business owners said they planned to raise wages in the next three months.

92% of the employers surveyed said there were few qualified job seekers for the job openings they needed.

The number of companies planning to hire rose by one percentage point in September to 67 per cent, while the number of skilled and unskilled workers needed rose by two percentage points and one percentage point, respectively.