The Legislature should avoid aggravating the problem, says Hawaii small-business advocate

News Release from NFIB Hawaii, July 2, 2020

HONOLULU, July 2, 2020—Not a ray of sunshine could be found in yesterday’s release of NFIB’s monthly Job Report, but the association’s state director said today the Hawaii Legislature should not make a dismal situation worse.

“Businesses are confronting a loss of revenue and protracted restrictions on operations due to the pandemic,” said Melissa Pavlicek, Hawaii state director for NFIB. “This report suggests that now is not the time to Increase costs for Hawaii small businesses through an increased minimum wage or imposing additional regulatory mandates.”

Yesterday’s Jobs Report showed the small business labor market has further weakened in June. Firms reduced employment by 0.28 workers per firm over the past month, weaker than the decrease of 0.17 workers per firm in May. Unchanged from last month, 6% reported increasing employment an average of 2.6 workers per firm and 22% (up one point) reported reducing employment an average of 4.6 workers per firm (seasonally adjusted).

Commented NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg, “As states change reopening rules and dates, sometimes easing restrictions, small businesses are feeling various levels of uncertainty as to what comes next. With recent COVID-19 spikes in some cases, many state governments are reversing prior decisions and reducing the potential for small business to earn needed revenue.”

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Keep up with the latest Hawaii small-business news at www.nfib.com/hawaii or by following NFIB on Twitter @NFIB_HI.