Paychex Small Business Employment Watch also shows the immediate impact of recent hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina

ROCHESTER, N.Y., October 29, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Paychex Small Business Employment Watch reported a national index level of 100.06 for small business job growth in the month of October. The jobs index has averaged 100.29 through the first 10 months of 2024, indicating modest job growth in U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. At the same time, hourly earnings growth in October was 3.02% and weekly earnings growth remained below three percent for the ninth-straight month, marking its lowest level since August 2021.

The October report was impacted by multiple hurricanes. The jobs index in Florida (99.62) fell below 100 for the first time since March 2021, including a 1.81 percentage-point decrease for Tampa (97.91), which ranked last among top U.S. metros for the month. North Carolina (99.80) dropped 1.13 percentage points and eleven spots in the state rankings for October.

"Given the near real-time nature of our data collection, we can already see the unfortunate aftereffects of Hurricanes Milton and Helene on small businesses in Florida and North Carolina," said John Gibson, Paychex president and CEO. "The immediate devastation can clearly be seen in notable employment and hours worked growth drops in both states. However, we anticipate a rebound in local jobs and hours worked over the next several months, as well as an increase in job opportunities for workers in surrounding areas to assist in the rebuilding efforts."

"As we enter the last quarter of 2024, we continue to see moderate, stable job growth for small businesses and earnings for their workers remaining steady," Gibson added. "Employers are still facing challenges like finding qualified employees, controlling benefits costs, and accessing affordable growth capital, but we know from more than a half century of experience supporting small businesses that they are consistently resilient."

Jobs Index and Wage Data Highlights

• The national small business jobs index has averaged 100.29 so far in 2024, representing modest employment growth.

• National hourly earnings growth increased marginally to 3.02% in October. Three-month annualized hourly earnings growth has been reported below three percent for the past six months.

• Weekly hours worked growth (-0.20%) across the U.S. remained negative year-over-year for the 19th consecutive month.

• The Midwest (100.79) gained 0.40 percentage points in October and remained the top region for small business employment growth for the fifth consecutive month. Strong gains in Education and Health Services across top-ranked Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin contributed most to job growth in the region.