Small Businesses Add 38,200 Jobs: July 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 weighted to be nationally representative by size, industry, region, and company age.
July was a steady month for small business job growth, with America’s small businesses adding an estimated +38,200 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. July’s gain marked the sixth consecutive month of positive net hiring following January’s dip, holding roughly in line with June (+40,800) but landing below the 12-month average, a small business labor market that is still expanding, though at a cooler, steadier pace as it moves through the summer.
Beneath the headline, hiring stayed broadly positive. Health care and social assistance again led all sectors with +15,100 net hires, followed by construction (+4,800) and professional, scientific, and technical services (+3,900). 15 of 19 sectors posted positive net hires, all four U.S. regions added jobs, led by the South at +12,600, and every company size tier stayed in positive territory. The breadth of gains points to a labor market that is holding steady rather than stalling.
The Big Picture
At +38,200, July’s seasonally adjusted net hires came in below the 12-month average of +43,100. Here’s how the month compares to the recent trend:
March 2026: +76,500 net hires
April 2026: +54,900 net hires
May 2026: +38,200 net hires
June 2026: +40,800 net hires
Prior months were revised with this release: June’s net gain, initially reported at +32,900, was revised up to +40,800, while May was revised down to +38,200 (from +60,500). As always, the most recent months are subject to revision as additional payroll data arrives.
Sector Breakdown
July’s sector gains were again led by health care, with construction and professional services close behind:
Health Care and Social Assistance: +15,100 net hires
Construction: +4,800 net hires
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: +3,900 net hires
Wholesale Trade: +2,900 net hires
Other Services: +2,800 net hires
Finance and Insurance: +2,800 net hires
Educational Services: +1,700 net hires
Administrative and Support Services: +1,600 net hires
Manufacturing: +1,100 net hires
Information: +1,000 net hires
Health Care and Social Assistance led all sectors for the month with +15,100 net hires, edging up from June’s +15,000 and extending its run atop the rankings. Construction followed at +4,800, with Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services at +3,900. In all, 15 of 19 sectors in positive territory, breadth held steady with June’s 15-of-19 reading.
Regional Breakdown
All four U.S. regions posted positive net hires in July:
South: +12,600 net hires
Northeast: +10,800 net hires
Midwest: +8,700 net hires
West: +6,100 net hires
The South led all regions in July at +12,600 net hires, followed by the Northeast at +10,800, the Midwest at +8,700, and the West at +6,100. Gains were positive across every region, with the South and Northeast accounting for the largest share of the month’s net job creation.
Company Size Breakdown
All four company size tiers posted positive net hires in July:
1–4 employees: +5,700 net hires
5–9 employees: +11,200 net hires
10–19 employees: +8,700 net hires
20–49 employees: +12,600 net hires
Larger small businesses continued to drive the bulk of net hiring, with firms in the 20–49 employee range leading at +12,600. The 5–9 employee tier added +11,200, while the 10–19 (+8,700) and the smallest 1–4 employee businesses (+5,700) rounded out the month. All four tiers stayed positive, with the smaller tiers adding more jobs than in June — a broad-based, if modest, month of gains.
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.
