Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index

Published at the beginning of every month, the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index is a collaboration between Intuit QuickBooks and an international team of economists led by Professor Ufuk Akcigit, the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. Use the filters to explore the data.

Small businesses employment and job vacancy growth by region

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Small business employment and job vacancies over time

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Small business employment and job vacancy growth by sector

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Learn more with Professor Ufuk Akcigit

About the Index

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index is a powerful monthly indicator for the health of the small business economy in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. — providing up-to-date employment and hiring insights as follows:


  • U.S.: The Index shows number of people employed by small businesses with 1-9 employees and how that number has changed since the month before at the national, regional, state (when sample sizes are sufficient), and sector levels.
  • Canada: The Index shows the number of people employed by small businesses with 1-19 employees and how that number has changed since the month before at the national, regional, and sector levels.
  • U.K.: The Index shows the number of job vacancies at small businesses with 1-9 employees and how that number has changed since the month before at the national (U.K.), country (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) and sector levels.

How it works

The Index uses administrative data from anonymized QuickBooks Payroll records, not survey data, in combination with official statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Statistics Canada, and the U.K.’s Office for National Statistics to create monthly employment and hiring insights that reflect the general population of small businesses in each country. The Index is not a reflection of Intuit’s business. The total sample is almost 424,000 small businesses. Read more about the sample and methodology here.

Why it's needed

The primary benefit of the Index is its unparalleled focus on small businesses, which are vital to the current and future health of the economy but often underrepresented in economic data. By shining a brighter light on small businesses, Intuit QuickBooks hopes to increase their growth and success rates throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

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