The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index slipped -0.16 pts to 99.65 in June, marking another month of modest cooling in small business employment growth. The index is down -0.64 pts over the last 12 months.

• The Midwest (100.15) led all regions for the 13th consecutive month, though all regions saw MoM declines; the West (98.89) was the weakest and fell below 99 for the first time since March 2021.
• Ohio (101.04) topped all states, while Washington (98.06) and California (98.66) were the only states below 99, with Washington posting the largest one-month drop in nearly four years (-2.27 pts).

• Education and Health Services (101.23) remained the top-performing sector for the 13th straight month despite the sharpest MoM decline (-0.48 pts).
• Leisure and Hospitality dropped further to 97.76, its lowest level since March 2021.
• Construction rose to 99.97, just under its 2025 YTD average, while Manufacturing gained +0.40 pts MoM to 98.80—the largest monthly increase among sectors.

Hourly earnings growth for US small business workers held steady at 2.79% YoY in June, remaining just below 3% for the 10th time in the past 11 months.

• Weekly earnings growth rose to 2.58% YoY, the fifth consecutive monthly increase, while weekly hours worked remained negative at -0.12% YoY.
• The Midwest led hourly earnings growth at 2.91%, with Tennessee (4.59%) topping all states for the 8th straight month.
• Tennessee also led in weekly earnings growth (4.79%) and was second in weekly hours worked growth (0.18%).
• Construction led sectors in hourly earnings growth at 3.27%, while Leisure and Hospitality remained lowest at 2.52% despite showing improvement.
• Manufacturing posted the strongest weekly earnings growth among sectors at 3.47% for the fourth straight month.

The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index edged down -0.21 pts to 99.81 in May, indicating largely unchanged small business employment growth.

• The Midwest (100.19) remained the strongest region for the 12th straight month and the only one above 100.
• Texas (101.20) reclaimed the top spot among states, while California (99.36) remained below 100 for the 14th consecutive month despite modest gains.
• Education and Health Services (101.71) led all sectors for the 12th month, continuing four years of strong job growth.
• Construction dropped -0.68 pts to 99.69, its lowest reading since March 2021.
• Leisure and Hospitality remained the weakest sector for the fourth straight month at 98.18.

Hourly earnings growth for US small business workers slowed to 2.77% YoY in May, marking a new 4-year low and continuing a steady decline in wage growth.

• The 3-month annualized hourly earnings growth dropped to 2.45%, its lowest since Dec 2020, while weekly earnings growth rose to 2.59% YoY, extending a 4-month uptrend.
• Weekly hours worked remained negative YoY at -0.21%, with only 3 of the past 48 months showing growth.
• The Midwest led regions in hourly (3.06%) and weekly (2.79%) earnings growth; the Northeast ranked last in both categories.
• Tennessee (4.74%) topped states for hourly earnings for the 7th straight month, while North Carolina (1.44%) and Maryland (1.82%) were the weakest.
• Other Services (3.37%), Construction (3.25%), and Manufacturing (3.05%) led sectors in hourly earnings; Leisure and Hospitality fell to last at 2.11%, its lowest since July 2015.

The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index rose 0.27 pts to 100.02 in April, reaching its highest 3-month growth rate since February 2023 and showing only a -0.10 pt YoY decline.

• The Midwest led all regions for the 11th straight month at 100.77, gaining 0.81 pts MoM and remaining the only region with YoY growth.
• The West (99.53) stayed below 100 for the 13th month, with no meaningful change MoM, QoQ, or YoY.

• Education and Health Services (101.16) remained the top-performing sector for the 11th month in a row.
• Professional and Business Services jumped 0.82 pts to 100.36, the strongest monthly sector gain.
• Leisure and Hospitality rose 0.78 pts to 98.63 but stayed last among sectors for the third straight month, continuing its post-pandemic slowdown.

Hourly earnings growth slowed to 2.82% YoY in April, the lowest since May 2021, with one-month annualized growth (2.41%) falling below the annual rate for the first time in 2025.

• Weekly earnings growth rose to 2.54% YoY, with 3Mo annualized growth hitting a 2-year high of 3.80%.
• Weekly hours worked remained negative YoY at -0.17%, despite a one-month annualized gain of 2.62%.
• The West led all regions in hourly earnings growth (3.04% YoY) for the 25th consecutive month, while the Northeast ranked last (2.68%) but led in weekly hours worked (0.12% YoY).
• Other Services topped sectors in hourly earnings growth at 3.38%, but weak hours worked (-0.54% YoY) kept weekly earnings under 3% for 11 consecutive months.
• Construction and Manufacturing led sectors in weekly earnings growth at 3.44% YoY; Leisure and Hospitality remained last in hourly earnings (2.16%), its lowest since July 2015.

The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index fell -0.29 pts to 99.75 in March, slightly below the pace set at the end of the past two quarters.

• The national jobs index decelerated -1.10 ppts over the past year, equal to the average slowdown during the past year and half.
• The jobs index in all four regions landed below 100 in March for the first time in four years. Texas (100.85) continued to lead states for small business job growth in March.
• Education and Health Services (101.34) continued as the top sector for small business job growth for the 10th consecutive month in March.
• Last among sectors for small business employment growth, Leisure and Hospitality slowed to 97.85 March. Following several years of strong, post-pandemic growth, Leisure and Hospitality has reported < 99 since June 2024.
• Manufacturing (99.30) has gained 1.05 ppts during Q1 2025, best among sectors.

Small business hourly earnings growth accelerated from an 1-month annualized rate of 3.29% in February to 3.51% in March, outpacing annual growth for the fourth straight month.

• Weekly earnings growth (2.49% YoY) increased in March as one-month annualized growth (4.41%) reached a two-year high.
• Weekly hours worked growth decreased -0.36% YoY in March as weekly hours worked are reporting below pre-pandemic levels in 2025.
• The West (3.18% YoY) led regions for hourly earnings growth for the 22nd-straight month and has reported above three percent since February 2021.
• Construction (3.43% YoY) continued as the top industry for hourly earnings growth again in March and was the only sector to report positive weekly hours worked growth (0.07% YoY).
• Leisure and Hospitality (2.22% YoY) ranked last among sectors again in March and slowed to its lowest level in nearly a decade (2.14% YoY in July 2015). The industry was also the only sector to report a negative one-month annualized weekly hours worked growth rate in March.
• Manufacturing topped weekly earnings growth among sectors (3.13% YoY) as one-month annualized growth (5.11%) reached its highest level since September 2022.

The Small Business Jobs Index improved 0.36 pts to 100.04, the first increase and the first > 100 reading since October 2024 and the largest since May 2024.

• At 100.04 in February 2025, small business employment growth was 0.63 pts off the pace set last year (100.67).
• All regions saw gains over the month with the largest being the South region, up 0.72 pts since 100.09.
• Education and Health Services (101.60) continued as the top industry for small business job growth for the ninth consecutive month in February.
• Manufacturing (99.52) gained 2.39 pts in February, representing the strongest one-month increase since April 2021. Manufacturing remained below 100, but has the best one-, three-, and 12-month change rates among sectors.
• Job growth in Leisure and Hospitality slowed -0.73 pts to 98.01 in February, which ranked last among sectors. Leisure and Hospitality has reported an index level below 99 for the past nine months.

Small business wage growth accelerated from an annualized 1-month rate of 2.99% in January to 3.62% in February, an 18-month high.

• The 3-month annualized rate grew from 2.85% previously to 3.19%, and the annual rate was basically unchanged at 2.92%.
• Weekly earnings growth (2.31%) increased for the first month since August 2024, while one-month annualized weekly earnings growth (3.84%) reported a two-year high.
• Weekly hours worked growth decreased -0.72% YoY in February, as weekly hours worked fell to 32.18, the lowest level since April 2014.
• Construction (3.29%) regained its top rank among industries for hourly earnings growth in February, followed closely by Other Services (3.27%) and Manufacturing (3.21%).
• Leisure and Hospitality (2.48%) landed last among sectors for hourly earnings growth in February for the first time since April 2015 and was the only sector with 1- and 3-month annualized hourly earnings growth below two percent in February.
• All sectors reported negative weekly hours worked growth in February, with Construction ranked first (-0.15%) and Education and Health Services (-0.84%) ranked last.

The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index fell further by -0.21 to 99.68 in January, down -1.01 pts from a year ago.

• This is the sixth month out of the last seven to be below 100.
• All four regions fell with the South region down the most, down -1.75 to 99.37.
• Education and Health Services (101.72) continued as the top sector for small business job growth for the eighth-straight month in January.
• Financial Activities fell -1.45 pts in January to 99.58, its lowest level since June 2021.
• Leisure and Hospitality (98.74) has reported below 99 for seven consecutive months.
• Ranked last among sectors again in January, Manufacturing (97.13) slowed -1.12 pts to its lowest level since March 2021.

Hourly earnings growth moderated further to 2.87% YoY in January, down from 2.94% YoY in December.

• The three-month annualized growth has been below 3% since May 2024.
• Weekly earnings growth has quickly decelerated in recent months to 2.12% YoY in January 2025 – its lowest level since January 2019 (2.10% YoY). One-month and three-month annualized growth also both reported below one percent.
• At 3.21% YoY in January, Manufacturing led sectors for hourly earnings growth for the first time since February 2014.

The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index saw a minor decline of -0.02 pts to 99.89 in December and is down -1.32 pts from a year ago. In 2024, the index averaged 2024 which suggests that small business employment saw modest growth through the year.

Education and Health Services was the strongest sector for the seventh straight month at 101.34. Manufacturing was the weakest sector at 98.25, falling -1.82 pts over the last year. Leisure & Hospitality, one of the strongest sectors in the post-pandemic recover, is now the 2nd weakest at 98.65 and has been below 99 for the last six months.