Everything small businesses are saying continues to point to higher wages
The August NFIB report showed that 23% of firms reported increase to compensation in the past three months, unchanged from July's level. However, this number has been trending upward since the financial crisis.
Furthermore, a seasonally adjusted net 13% plan to raise compensation in the coming months. This is slightly lower than last month's 15%, however this number has also been trending higher over the last few years.
And while sales are still one of the bigger concerns for small business as the economic recovery continues to be shaky, it has seen a major drop as the "single most important problem" as the economy has improved. The change toward labor quality becoming the most important problem for more employers suggests that economic concerns are shifting from weak demand to tight supply.
In fact, there was an increase in respondents who reported "few or no qualified applicants" for the positions they were trying to fill (48% in August, unchanged from July), suggesting that good labor in America is still in short supply. This number has been trending higher since 2009.
All of this points to higher wages for America's workers.
