Hiring Cools to Slowest Pace of the Streak as Gains Hold Across Every Region and Company Size

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — America’s small businesses added an estimated 29,500 net new jobs in August on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest Gusto Small Business Jobs Report — the seventh consecutive month of positive hiring following January’s dip. August’s gain was the most modest of that streak, with growth slipping below the 12-month average as summer’s momentum eased heading into fall.

Breadth narrowed but held: 13 of 19 sectors, all four U.S. regions, and every company size tier added jobs in August. Healthcare and Social Assistance again led all sectors with 16,300 net hires, followed by Construction (+4,200), Administrative and Support Services (+2,100), and Other Services (+1,900). Six of 19 sectors posted net losses, led by hospitality, as mining, utilities, and transportation and warehousing joined agriculture in the negative column — the narrowest breadth of the seven-month streak.

“August looks like a slow down, not a pullback,” said Nich Tremper, Senior Economist at Gusto. “Every region and every company size added jobs in August. Small businesses are being a bit more selective about new hires heading into fall, but new hire pay and wages overall have increased since August 2025. Small businesses continue their hiring streak and are paying more than they were just last year.”

Pay kept climbing even as hiring cooled. Average Hourly Earnings — the average wage across small business workers — reached $37.31 an hour in August, up 3.9% from a year earlier, while starting pay for newly hired workers rose 3.2% to about $25.78 an hour.

The Big Picture

August’s net hires slowed from July’s, marking the softest month of the seven-month streak as summer’s momentum eased heading into fall. Recent months: April (+54,900), May (+38,200), June (+35,800), July (+42,400), August (+29,500). Prior months were revised with this release — June was revised down to +35,800 (from +40,800), and July was revised up to +42,400 (from +38,200). As always, the most recent months are subject to revision as additional payroll data arrives.

Sector Breakdown

healthcare and Social Assistance led all sectors for the month, though the pace eased from July. Top gainers:

• healthcare and Social Assistance: +16,300 net hires
• Construction: +4,200 net hires
• Administrative and Support Services: +2,100 net hires
• Other Services: +1,900 net hires

healthcare and Social Assistance extended its run atop the rankings, though the pace eased from July’s +17,500. Six of 19 sectors posted net losses in August, led by hospitality — mining, utilities, and transportation and warehousing all slipped from positive into negative territory alongside agriculture, which was already shedding jobs.

Regional Breakdown

All four U.S. regions posted positive net hires in August:

• South: +14,200 net hires
• West: +6,600 net hires
• Midwest: +4,500 net hires
• Northeast: +4,200 net hires

The South held its position atop all regions again in August, though off the +16,900 pace it set in July. The West came in second, followed by the Midwest and the Northeast. Gains eased from July in three of the four regions — only the West edged up. Wage growth was strongest in the West, where small business pay rose about 5.1% over the past year, ahead of the South (about 4.0%), the Northeast (about 3.6%), and the Midwest (about 3.1%).

Company Size Breakdown

All four company size tiers posted positive net hires in August:

• 5–9 employees: +9,400 net hires
• 10–19 employees: +9,200 net hires
• 20–49 employees: +8,000 net hires
• 1–4 employees: +2,900 net hires

Gains were spread relatively evenly across company sizes in August. All tiers stayed positive, but each pulled back from earlier in the summer — a uniform cooling rather than weakness concentrated in any one segment.

Methodology

The Gusto Small Business Jobs Report tracks anonymized payroll data from a stratified random sample of roughly 100,000 small businesses across the United States with 1–49 employees, drawn from the 500,000+ companies on Gusto. To ensure the findings represent small businesses nationally, Gusto uses a two-stage weighting process: first, matching the national distribution of small businesses by industry, size, and region using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data as a benchmark; second, adjusting for company age using Census Bureau Business Dynamics Statistics data. All figures are seasonally adjusted using the U.S. Census Bureau’s X-13ARIMA-SEATS methodology unless otherwise noted.

About Gusto

Gusto is the leading partner for small businesses, helping them with a wide variety of critical tasks, including payroll, health benefits, tax credits, compliance, 401(k), HR, and much more. Gusto serves over 500,000 small businesses across the US and is on a multi-decade journey to grow the small business economy with technology and heart.

Media Contact

press@gusto.com 

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SOURCE Gusto, Inc.