The U.S. Small Business Administration says small businesses made up more than 99 percent of all businesses in Ohio in 2025, employing about 44% of the state’s private workforce. A new report by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) compared small businesses in Ohio with those in other states. And there was one factor where Ohio falls behind,
NFIB Ohio State Director Jared Weiser said the study showed there are not enough workers in Ohio to meet the needs of small businesses.
“According to our data, it’s harder in Ohio than in other states," Weiser said.
Weiser said the report by the NFIB's research institute measured changes in sales, employment, investment, financing and economic sentiment. And this year, Ohio fell a little bit in the rankings from the previous year. He said Ohio’s low unemployment rate could be a factor in making it harder to get skilled workers.
"It's a good thing that our unemployment rate is going down from 5% to 4.2% in our most recent survey," Weiser said. "That's great for the economy but it is also a tighter labor market and it's a smaller pond for small business owners to find qualified workers."
Weiser said it is also hard for small businesses to attract workers when they are competing with big companies that are also recruiting employees.
“Nearly one in four small businesses in Ohio say labor quality is their biggest challenge and many times, that comes down to being able to offer competitive packages for things like health insurance and compensation," Weiser said. "So for small businesses, it’s very hard to compete with the large corporations that can offer tuition reimbursement for you and your family and other very generous benefit packages.”
Weiser said the group is hoping to use the findings in this report to help small businesses in Ohio tap into ways to attract more qualified workers in the future.
