The Manifest, a Washington DC-based business resource platform, surveyed 1,003 small business owners and managers and found that 55% of small businesses are planning to add more employees to their team in 2022.

Social media platforms such as LinkedIn are playing a huge role in helping small businesses (60%) find credible candidates. However, a clear majority of the owners and managers (83%) admitted that they're having difficulties with their recruitment and sourcing efforts.

In this report, The Manifest highlights the HR statistics, trends, and challenges for small businesses in 2022.

The study determines which roles are in demand, how many new employees small businesses plan to hire, and factors companies consider vital in keeping their staff engaged.

Staffing and HR Statistics for Small Businesses in 2022

Here are our team's findings:

• Over half of small businesses (55%) are planning to hire in 2022.

• Customer service (37%), sales (32%), marketing (27%), production (27%), and information technology (26%) are the most common types of roles being filled in 2022.

• About one in five small businesses hiring in 2022 (19%) will open roles for cross-functional roles that span multiple departments.

• In 2022, 21% of small businesses plan on hiring 20 or more employees.

• Small businesses use social media (60%), in-house HR resources (41%), outsourced recruiting firms (36%), and HR software platforms (30%) to source and recruit candidates.

• Most small businesses intend to hire full-time employees (63%), but companies also plan on filling positions for part-time employees (28%), unpaid interns (10%), and paid interns (5%).

• The vast majority of small businesses (83%) admitted to facing at least one HR and staffing challenges in 2022 so far.

• Two-thirds of small businesses (67%) that are satisfied with their 2021 attrition rates think remote work positively affected their work culture.

Sherry Morgan, the founder of Petsolino, a resource for pet owners aiming to be better caretakers, noticed that hiring has become more competitive.

"One of the challenges we are facing due to the Great Resignation is that now we have more competition when it comes to hiring top talent," Morgan said. "These competitions make hiring more difficult since there will always be bigger companies who can pay bigger salaries, and provide more benefits."

Morgan and other small business owners recommend that companies showcase the value of working for a small business during the interview process to interest top talent.