Small Businesses Add 32,900 Jobs: June 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 fewer than 50 employees.

June was a softer month for small business job growth, with America’s small businesses adding an estimated +32,900 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. June’s gain marks the fifth consecutive month of positive net hiring following January’s dip, but the pace cooled a bit from the spring, slipping below the 12-month average and landing as the slowest month of the streak.

Even as the headline cooled, hiring remained positive among most industries. Health care and social assistance again led all sectors with +14,300 net hires, followed by construction (+6,100) and professional, scientific, and technical services (+3,800). 14 of 19 sectors posted positive net hires. All four U.S. regions added jobs, led by the South at +10,900, and every company size tier stayed in positive territory. The breadth held up even as the magnitude faded, pointing to a small business labor market that is still expanding, but at a more measured pace.

The Big Picture

At +32,900, June’s seasonally adjusted net hires came in below the 12-month average of +45,900. Here’s how the month compares to the recent trend:

• February 2026: +61,900 net hires

• March 2026: +76,500 net hires

• April 2026: +54,900 net hires

• May 2026: +60,500 net hires

On a seasonally adjusted basis, small businesses made 2.53 million hires against 2.50 million terminations in June. Compared with the same month a year ago, hires were up +1.0% and terminations rose +3.2%, a sign that churn is running a touch hotter even as net job creation slows.

Prior months were revised with this release: May’s net gain, initially reported at +83,900, was revised down to +60,500, and February was revised to +61,900. As always, the most recent months are subject to revision as additional payroll data arrives.

Sector Breakdown

June’s sector gains were again led by health care, with construction and professional services close behind:

• Health Care and Social Assistance: +14,300 net hires

• Construction: +6,100 net hires

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: +3,800 net hires

• Administrative and Support Services: +2,300 net hires

• Finance and Insurance: +2,200 net hires

• Other Services: +2,100 net hires

• Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: +1,200 net hires

• Wholesale Trade: +1,200 net hires

• Educational Services: +800 net hires

• Utilities: +600 net hires

Health Care and Social Assistance led all sectors for the month with +14,300 net hires, extending its run atop the rankings, though the pace eased from May’s +17,300. Construction added +6,100, its fifth consecutive month among the top sectors, while Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services contributed +3,800.

The cooler headline was driven in part by hospitality: Accommodation and Food Services, which added +5,500 in May, swung to a loss of –1,500 in June. In all, 5 of 19 sectors posted net job losses.

Regional Breakdown

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

• South: +10,900 net hires

• Northeast: +8,800 net hires

• West: +8,300 net hires

• Midwest: +4,900 net hires

The South held its position atop all regions again in June at +10,900 net hires, though well off the +19,500 pace it set in May. The Northeast came in second at +8,800, with the West close behind at +8,300 and the Midwest at +4,900. Gains were positive everywhere but smaller across the board than in spring,  the regional picture cooled in step with the national headline.

Company Size Breakdown

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

• 20–49 employees: +15,100 net hires

• 5–9 employees: +9,400 net hires

• 10–19 employees: +5,200 net hires

• 1–4 employees: +3,200 net hires

Larger small businesses continued to drive the bulk of net hiring, with firms in the 20–49 employee range leading at +15,100. The 5–9 employee tier added +9,400, while the 10–19 (+5,200) and the smallest 1–4 employee businesses (+3,200) rounded out the month. All tiers stayed positive, but each pulled back from May’s stronger pace, 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 400,000+ 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.