Small Businesses Add 60,600 Jobs: April 2026 Gusto Small Business Jobs Report

The Gusto Small Business Jobs Report provides a real-time view of hiring among the 500,000+ U.S. small businesses on Gusto. All figures are based on anonymized payroll data and are statistically weighted to be nationally representative by size, industry, region, and company age. We track America’s small business economy of companies with less than 50 employees.

America’s small businesses continued to add jobs at a solid pace in April, posting +60,600 net new jobs for the month – comfortably above the 12-month average of 48,100 jobs and marking the third consecutive month of strong gains following February’s +82,600 and March’s +76,500 net hires. The sustained run of strong job creation reinforces a positive trajectory for small business hiring heading deeper into 2026.

The strength in April was broad-based. Accommodation and food services posted the strongest gains (+20,300 jobs), followed by construction (+10,300) and health care (+9,700). Fourteen out of 19 sectors posted positive net hires. Three of the four U.S. regions added jobs, with the South again leading at +31,600 net hires. All company size tiers posted positive net hires for the third straight month – a level of consistency that underscores the durability of the current hiring trend.

The overall picture points to a small business labor market that has found solid footing in 2026. After January’s soft patch, small businesses have now strung together three months of strong above-trend growth, with gains spread across industries, regions, and company sizes. 

The Big Picture: Three Straight Months of Solid Growth

Gusto data show that in April there were an estimated +60,600 net hires among small businesses nationally on a seasonally adjusted basis. This continues the strong run that began in February, with three consecutive months of above-average net hiring following January’s –62,000 dip. At +60,600, April’s gain comfortably exceeds the 12-month average of +48,100.

Here’s how April 2026 small-business net hiring compares to recent months:

• December 2025: +77,100 net hires

• January 2026: –62,000 net hires

• February 2026: +82,600 net hires

• March 2026: +76,500 net hires

U.S. small businesses hired 2.84 million workers in April, while terminations (employee separations for any reason) reached 2.78 million, resulting in solid net job growth nationally. 

The overall pace of both hiring and terminations continues to run above year-ago levels. Hirings by small businesses were up +8.3% from one year ago in April, and separations were up +9.9%. These year-over-year increases confirm that the labor market has moved decisively past the “Great Freeze” conditions observed through much of 2024 and early 2025, when both hirings and separations were running well below prior-year levels. Workers and employers alike are showing greater willingness to make moves – a healthy sign for the dynamism of the small business economy.

Broad Sector Gains Led by Hospitality and Construction

April’s sector picture showed continued broad-based strength, with gains led by hospitality and construction:

• Accommodation and Food Services: +20,300 net hires

• Construction: +10,300 net hires

• Health Care and Social Assistance: +9,700 net hires

• Retail Trade: +5,000 net hires

• Administrative and Support Services: +4,700 net hires

• Real Estate, Rental & Leasing: +3,300 net hires

• Manufacturing: +3,200 net hires

• Transportation & Warehousing: +1,900 net hires

• Other Services: +1,800 net hires

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: +1,400 net hires

Accommodation and food services surged to the top spot in April with +20,300 net hires, a strong signal for seasonal summer hiring as SMBs begin to ramp up seasonal hiring for the summer months. Construction also had a strong month at +10,300, its strongest reading of 2026 so far. Health care remained solid at +9,700, continuing its run as one of the most consistent drivers of small business job growth. Professional services came in at +1,400 after posting +9,900 in March – a sector that continues to show month-to-month variability even as the broader trajectory remains positive.

Four sectors posted job losses in April:

• Educational Services: –1,600 net hires

• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: –1,100 net hires

• Information: –400 net hires

• Utilities: –200 net hires

With 14 out of 19 sectors posting positive net hires and one roughly flat, April maintained solid cross-sector breadth. While March’s 18-of-19 showing was unusually strong, April’s reading remains healthy and consistent with the broad-based hiring trend seen through the spring.

Regions: Three of Four Post Gains, South Leads Again

Three of four U.S. regions posted positive net hires in April, continuing the broadly positive regional trend:

• South: +31,600 net hires

• Northeast: +18,700 net hires

• Midwest: +11,200 net hires

• West: –900 net hires

The South continued to lead the way at +31,600 net hires, maintaining its position as the strongest region for small business hiring. The Northeast posted a solid +18,700, roughly in line with its +18,500 in March, showing steady momentum. The Midwest came in at +11,200. The West was essentially flat at –900, a minor dip that followed two solid months of gains.

Company Size: All Tiers Positive for Third Straight Month

Breaking down the numbers by company size reveals a third consecutive month with all four size tiers in positive territory – a streak of consistency that highlights the breadth of the current hiring trend:

• 20–49 employees: +26,700 net hires

• 10–19 employees: +16,500 net hires

• 5–9 employees: +11,300 net hires

• 1–4 employees: +6,100 net hires

The pattern remains consistent: larger small businesses continue to drive the bulk of net hiring, but the smallest firms are also contributing. The smallest businesses (1–4 employees) posted +6,100 net hires in April, their third straight month in positive territory. 

Takeaways for Small Businesses

April’s +60,600 net hires extend what has become a solid run for small business hiring in 2026. With three consecutive months of above-average job growth, gains spread across 14 of 19 sectors, and all four company size tiers in positive territory, the data paint a picture of a small business labor market that is on firm ground.

The thaw from the “Great Freeze” now appears well established. Both hirings and terminations are running above year-ago levels – up +8.3% and +9.9%, respectively – reflecting a labor market where workers and employers are actively making moves. This increased dynamism is a healthy sign for small businesses, suggesting that the stagnation of 2024 and early 2025 is firmly in the rearview mirror.

Looking ahead, the breadth and consistency of recent gains provide a strong foundation heading into the summer months. The continued strength in hospitality and construction, the steady performance of health care, and the persistent gains across all company size tiers all point to durable momentum. While the West’s slight dip and month-to-month variability in sectors like professional services are worth monitoring, the overall trajectory for small business hiring remains clearly positive.

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. All figures in this report are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.

To ensure the findings represent small businesses across the United States, Gusto uses a two-stage weighting process. First, we randomly select a representative sample of companies (roughly 100,000 businesses annually) that match the national distribution of small businesses by industry, company size, and geographic region, using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages” data as a benchmark. Second, we adjust the sample to reflect the national distribution of company ages based on data from the Census Bureau’s “Business Dynamics Statistics.”

This report provides three key metrics for small businesses each month: Hires (new employees starting work), terminations (employees leaving for any reason), and net hires (the difference between hires and terminations, showing whether small businesses are creating or losing jobs overall). All data are seasonally adjusted using the U.S. Census Bureau’s X-13ARIMA-SEATS methodology.