The Labor Market Doesn’t Just Need More Workers or More Jobs. It Needs Better Matches.

This Labor Day, maybe the labor shortage isn’t simply about people. Maybe it’s about the growing gap between what workers need and what small businesses can offer.

Labor Day has traditionally been a celebration of American workers—the people who build things, sell things, fix things, deliver things, manage businesses, care for people and keep the economy moving.

But Labor Day 2026 arrives with an interesting contradiction.

According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics report, the United States added 162,000 jobs in August, while unemployment remained at 4.1%. At the same time, millions of Americans remain unemployed, underemployed or outside the labor force despite wanting work.

Meanwhile, on Main Street, employers tell a very different story.

The latest NFIB survey found that 35% of small-business owners had job openings they could not fill. Among businesses hiring or trying to hire, 47% reported finding few or no qualified applicants.

Think about that for a moment.

People are looking for work.

Businesses are looking for people.

And somehow, they’re still having trouble finding each other.

Maybe this Labor Day we should stop asking:

“Where did all the workers go?”

And ask a better question:

Why Aren’t the Workers and the Jobs Connecting?

It’s tempting to pick a side.

Workers sometimes hear that “nobody wants to work anymore.”

Employers hear that they simply need to “pay people more.”

Neither explanation captures what’s really happening.

There are frustrated workers who have submitted dozens of applications without getting an interview.

There are small-business owners who have advertised the same position repeatedly without finding someone who stays.

There are people who genuinely want to work but need schedules that fit childcare, transportation, health, education or other responsibilities.

And there are business owners who would love to pay substantially higher wages but have to make those numbers work alongside rent, insurance, inventory, utilities, payroll taxes and everything else required to keep their doors open.

Both sides can be frustrated.

And both sides can be right.

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👷 The View From the Worker

Imagine looking for a job today.

You find a posting that seems promising.

You update your résumé.

You complete an online application.

You answer screening questions.

You upload the résumé you already entered manually.

Then…

Nothing.

Perhaps a computer decided you didn’t have the right keywords.

Maybe you have 25 years of experience, but not in precisely the industry listed in the posting.

Maybe you’re 60 and looking for a less demanding second act.

Maybe you’re 25 and nobody will hire you because every “entry-level” position seems to require experience.

Maybe you spent years managing people but now want a job with fewer responsibilities.

Or perhaps you took time away from the workforce and your résumé doesn’t follow the clean, uninterrupted career progression an algorithm expects.

There are also financial realities.

A worker doesn’t experience a wage as a number in a job advertisement.

They experience it after paying for housing, groceries, gasoline, childcare, healthcare and everything else required to live.

BLS reported that inflation-adjusted average hourly earnings were actually 0.2% lower in July than a year earlier.

So when workers say they’re struggling, we should listen.

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🏪 Now Stand Behind the Counter With the Small-Business Owner

The view can look completely different from the other side.

The owner posts a position.

Applications arrive.

Some candidates never respond.

Some schedule interviews and don’t show up.

Others aren’t available during the hours the business actually needs covered.

Some applicants have impressive résumés but aren’t a good fit for the job.

And every dollar added to payroll has to come from somewhere.

Small businesses are still dealing with significant cost pressures. In the U.S. Chamber’s Q2 2026 Small Business Index, 57% of small businesses identified inflation as their biggest concern, while only 16% described themselves as very comfortable with their cash flow.

Yet many employers are responding to the labor market. NFIB reported that a net 31% of small-business owners raised compensation in August.

The idea that every small-business owner could simply raise wages dramatically ignores the economics of running a small company.

A multinational corporation may be able to absorb higher labor costs across thousands of products, locations or customers.

The neighborhood retailer, restaurant, contractor or service business doesn’t necessarily have that luxury.

So when small-business owners say they’re struggling, we should listen to them too.

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This Matters Because Small Businesses Are a Huge Part of America’s Hiring Machine

Here’s something that gets lost in the discussion.

Small businesses aren’t sitting on the sidelines of the American labor market.

They’re driving an enormous part of it.

A U.S. Chamber analysis found that small businesses have accounted for roughly 80% of U.S. hires since early 2025—approximately four million hires per month.

That makes solving this disconnect much bigger than an HR problem.

It’s an economic opportunity.

And perhaps the solution starts with both sides reconsidering what they’re looking for.

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🌉 We Need to Build Better Bridges Between Workers and Small Businesses

There probably isn’t one solution to America’s labor-market mismatch.

But there are places to start.

1. Hire for Capability, Not Just Biography

Small businesses may need to rethink the “perfect candidate.”

A résumé tells you where someone has been.

It doesn’t necessarily tell you what that person can do next.

Someone with 20 years in another industry may understand customers, operations, leadership, problem-solving and accountability even if they don’t have the exact experience listed in your job description.

Likewise, a younger applicant without an extensive résumé may bring energy, technological fluency and a willingness to learn.

Experience matters.

But so do reliability, judgment, adaptability and attitude.

Sometimes businesses should hire the person rather than the résumé.

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2. Make Flexibility Part of the Compensation Package

A small business may not always be able to beat a corporation on salary.

But it may be able to compete differently.

Predictable schedules.

Four-day arrangements.

Part-time positions.

Flexible start times.

Seasonal opportunities.

Job sharing.

Reduced hours for experienced workers who no longer want a 50-hour week.

Flexibility has value.

And small businesses are often uniquely positioned to provide it because decisions can sometimes be made between an employee and an owner rather than through several layers of corporate policy.

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3. Workers May Need to Look Beyond the Job Title

Workers may need to rethink something too.

Your next good job doesn’t necessarily have to look like your last good job.

That can be especially difficult for someone who has spent decades building a career.

Moving from a corporate position into a small business can look like a step backward on paper.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be one in life.

Maybe the next opportunity provides less status but more flexibility.

Maybe it pays less initially but eliminates a two-hour commute.

Maybe you no longer manage 30 people—and discover you don’t miss managing 30 people.

Maybe the job is simply a bridge while you build something else.

Careers don’t always move vertically.

Sometimes they move sideways.

Sometimes they restart.

And sometimes the next chapter isn’t supposed to look like the last one.

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4. Stop Overlooking Experienced Workers

One of America’s most underappreciated labor pools may be sitting right in front of us.

Older workers.

Semi-retirees.

Former executives.

Career changers.

People who have spent decades working but no longer want—or need—the career they had at 45.

These workers may bring something incredibly valuable to a small business:

experience without necessarily demanding another corporate career.

At the opposite end, businesses also need to create more opportunities for inexperienced workers to become experienced workers.

One small-business example highlighted by the U.S. Chamber this year demonstrates what’s possible. After struggling to attract younger automotive workers, Dynamic Automotive developed apprenticeship programs and career paths with local schools and eventually created a waiting list of students interested in joining the company.

They didn’t wait for the perfect labor pool.

They helped build one.

That’s a lesson worth remembering.

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5. Don’t Let Technology Keep Two People Who Need Each Other Apart

Technology was supposed to make hiring easier.

Sometimes it has.

But we’ve also created a strange system.

Employers receive hundreds of digital applications.

Workers send hundreds of digital applications.

Algorithms filter résumés.

Software scores candidates.

Automated emails reject applicants.

And somewhere in all that efficiency, two actual human beings who might work very well together never have a conversation.

AI will undoubtedly become an even bigger part of recruiting.

But especially for small businesses, perhaps technology should help identify candidates—not completely replace human judgment.

Sometimes a 15-minute conversation tells you something a keyword filter never will.

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🤝 And Both Sides Need to Be Honest About the Deal

Employers should be clear about:

Pay.

Hours.

Responsibilities.

Physical requirements.

Advancement opportunities.

And what the job actually looks like on a difficult Tuesday afternoon—not just how it sounds in the advertisement.

Workers owe employers honesty too.

Be realistic about availability.

Show up for interviews.

Ask questions.

Understand the expectations.

And if a job isn’t right, say so.

A better labor market requires something remarkably old-fashioned:

People keeping their word.

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This Labor Day, Maybe We Need a Different Conversation About Work

Labor Day shouldn’t be about employers versus employees.

It shouldn’t be about blaming younger generations.

It shouldn’t be about blaming corporations.

And it shouldn’t be another opportunity to declare that nobody wants to work anymore.

Labor Day celebrates work—and the people who do it.

The person opening the store at 6 a.m.

The owner who hasn’t taken a real vacation in three years.

The 67-year-old who still has plenty to contribute.

The 22-year-old waiting for someone to give them their first real opportunity.

The parent trying to fit work around a family.

The experienced professional rebuilding after a layoff.

The employee who simply wants a fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.

And the small-business owner looking at next week’s schedule wondering how they’re going to cover Friday.

These people aren’t necessarily on opposite sides of America’s labor problem.

In many cases, they’re looking for each other.

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America Has Workers. Small Businesses Have Jobs.

Perhaps the opportunity ahead isn’t simply about creating more jobs.

And it isn’t simply about finding more workers.

It’s about creating a labor market flexible enough to connect people who want to work with businesses that need them—even when neither looks exactly like what the other expected.

Employers may need to reconsider who qualifies.

Workers may need to reconsider what qualifies as opportunity.

Businesses may need to train rather than simply recruit.

Technology may need to facilitate conversations rather than eliminate them.

And both sides may need to meet somewhere in the middle.

Because despite all the headlines about labor shortages, layoffs, AI, wages and the future of work, one fundamental relationship hasn’t changed:

Businesses need people.

People need opportunity.

This Labor Day, maybe we should get better at introducing them.

Happy Labor Day from MyUSACorporation.com.