The Paychex Small Business Jobs Index rose 0.17 pts to 99.82 in July, matching the 2025 YTD average and just -0.05 pts below its level from July 2024.

• The Midwest (100.33) led all regions for the 14th straight month; the South (99.70) stayed below 100 for a third month.
• Leisure and Hospitality (97.16) remained the weakest sector in the South, as it has for 13 of the past 14 months.
• Tampa (100.76) topped all metros for the first time since March 2021, continuing its post-hurricane recovery.
• Boston (100.60) posted the biggest MoM gain (+1.40 pts), its best performance in over four years.
• West Coast metros Riverside (98.24), San Francisco (98.40), and Seattle (98.74) had the lowest metro index levels in July.

Hourly earnings growth for US small business workers held at 2.74% YoY in July, marking the ninth consecutive month below 3%.

• Weekly earnings growth rose to 2.76% YoY, the highest since January and up steadily for six straight months.
• Weekly hours worked turned positive at 0.11% YoY, the first increase since August 2024; one-month annualized growth jumped to 2.32%.
• The Midwest led all regions in hourly earnings (2.82%), weekly earnings (2.97%), and weekly hours worked (0.13%).
• "Other Services (except Public Administration)" posted the strongest hourly earnings growth by sector at 3.33%, followed by Construction at 3.22%.
• Leisure and Hospitality remained the weakest sector at 2.47% hourly earnings growth for the sixth straight month.