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HomeinterviewsPaychex Small Business Employment Watch: September 2024 Report Highlights

Paychex Small Business Employment Watch: September 2024 Report Highlights

According to the Paychex Small Business Employment Watch for September 2024, which focuses on U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees, the national jobs index experienced a slight moderation to 99.84. Despite this, the index has averaged 100.31 throughout 2024, indicating modest employment growth in the sector.

  1. Current Job Market Trends:
    • The national jobs index of 99.84 reflects a slight decrease, remaining below 100 for the third consecutive month.
    • The jobs index has averaged 100.31 for the year, suggesting overall stability and modest growth in small business employment.
  2. Wage Growth Analysis:
    • Hourly earnings growth rose to 3.01% in September, recovering from a dip to 2.95% in August.
    • However, the three-month annualized growth in hourly earnings has remained below 3% for the past five months.
    • Weekly hours worked showed a negative change of -0.16% year-over-year for the 18th consecutive month.
  3. State and Regional Insights:
    • Over half of the states (29 out of 50) reported an index of 100 or higher in September, indicating positive employment growth.
    • The Midwest region, with an index of 100.39, has consistently led small business employment growth for four months. Indiana (101.29) topped the state rankings.
    • The West region reported an hourly earnings growth rate of 3.54%, leading all regions for the 15th consecutive month, but it also showed the largest negative change in job growth compared to the previous year, with a jobs index level of 99.09.
  4. Sector Performance:
    • Education and Health Services (100.95) continued to be the top industry for small business job growth for the fourth consecutive month. However, this sector experienced the largest one-month slowdown, dropping 0.92 percentage points.
  5. Challenges for Small Businesses:
    • John Gibson, Paychex President and CEO, highlighted ongoing struggles for small businesses in finding qualified workers and competing with larger businesses for talent.
    • In response, Paychex has introduced Recruiting Copilot, an AI-driven tool that enables employers to efficiently find top talent using natural language search.

The Paychex Small Business Employment Watch for September 2024 provides valuable insights into the current landscape of small business employment and wage trends. Despite slight fluctuations in the jobs index and challenges in the labor market, the overall trends indicate modest growth, with specific regions and sectors outperforming others. The introduction of innovative tools like Paychex Recruiting Copilot aims to assist small businesses in navigating these challenges and enhancing their recruitment processes.

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