According to the Paychex Small Business Employment Watch, year-over-year hourly earnings growth for U.S. workers moderated to 3.42% in February, continuing a trend that began mid-2022. Small business job growth held steady from last month, with the national Small Business Jobs Index closing February at 100.67.

“While our index continues to show job growth in businesses with fewer than 50 workers, it has now remained below pre-pandemic levels for two months. For the first time since March 2021, a major region has fallen below 100 (West: 99.81),” says John Gibson, Paychex president and CEO. “A tight job market for qualified candidates, access to affordable growth capital, and concerns about inflation continue to constrain small business owners from reaching their full growth potential.”

“Wage growth for small business workers continues to moderate, most notably for weekly earnings in Leisure and Hospitality. The sector fell below three percent (2.58%) for the first time since January of 2021 and is down from a peak of 10.35%,” adds Gibson.

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Jobs Index and Wage Data Highlights

The national index for February (100.67) continued to show slow and steady growth, down just 0.26 percentage points since July 2023.
National hourly earnings growth moderated to 3.42% year-over-year, continuing a measured deceleration that began in May 2022.
The West (3.87%) led regional hourly earnings growth for the ninth month in a row, and job growth fell below 100 for the first time since March 2021.
The South reported the weakest hourly earnings growth (3.11%) among regions in February. It remained the strongest region for small business employment growth (101.35), a designation it has held for 17 of the last 18 months.
Small business job gains in Leisure and Hospitality (100.24) continue to level off after pandemic surges, down 0.35 percentage points from last month and 5.09 percentage points from last year.

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