Everything small businesses are saying points to higher wages
The July NFIB report showed revealed that 23% of firms reported increases to compensation in the past three months, up from June's 21%. This number has also been trending upward since the financial crisis.
Furthermore, a seasonally adjusted net 15% plan to raise compensation in the upcoming months, compared with June's reading of 11%.
And while sales are still one of the bigger concerns for small business, 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 July, up from June's 44%), 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.
