Get 50% OFF QuickBooks
for 3 months
QuickBooks Blog
employment and revenue growth dashboard visualization

Small Business Index

A monthly index tracking small business employment, revenue, and job vacancies in the US, Canada, and the UK.

By Simon Worsfold
Updated on

Get the latest data

Small business employment trends in August 2026

US small business employment decreased by 11,100 jobs in August 2026, according to the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index—a decline of 0.09%. Small businesses now employ 12,934,800 people. By sector, the fastest decline rate was shared by construction and retail trade. By region, the fastest decline was in the New England region. By state, the fastest decline was in Indiana.

Use the dashboard above to explore this data, or to get the same data for Canada or the UK.

Small business revenue trends in August 2026

Average real monthly revenue at US small businesses was $49,850 in August 2026, according to the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, a monthly decline rate of 1.52%. By sector, the fastest decline was in the utilities sector. By region, the fastest decline was in the Plains region. By state, the fastest decline was in Minnesota.

Use the dashboard above to explore this data.

Explore more: Calendar | Methodology | FAQs | About the team | Ufuk Akcigit

Get the latest data insights in your inbox

Sign up to get the latest insights from the Small Business Index as soon as they are published each month.

How to use the data

For small businesses

  • Benchmark performance: Compare your monthly employment and revenue growth against the average for your sector, region, or state. This shows if an upturn or downturn matches wider trends. 
  • Find nearby growth: Use the region or state filters to spot areas with high growth. This data can inform your planning for marketing, hiring, or expansion. 

For accountants

  • Benchmark performance: Use this data to compare performance against the local or industry average. This applies both to your clients and your firm. 
  • Spot growth opportunities: Use state, sector, or regional data to identify high-growth areas. This can inform staffing, pricing, and cash flow targets. 

For policymakers and economists

  • Get timely data on small business trends: This data provides a reliable monthly signal of how small businesses are doing ahead of official statistics. 
  • Target policy and investment: Use the state, sector, or regional data to identify emerging economic shifts and assess the impact of policies on small business performance.

For the media

Media contact details for QuickBooks in the US can be found here on the Intuit website. When citing this data, please credit the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index. 

What is the Small Business Index?

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index tracks monthly changes in small business employment, job vacancies, and revenue—showing where we’re seeing the most and least growth. It’s available in the US, Canada, and the UK, with fresh data added every month. The methodology was developed by an international team of economists led by Ufuk Akcigit, the Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago. 

Learn more from Professor Ufuk Akcigit

Which small businesses are included?

In the US and the UK, the Small Business Index currently tracks growth at small businesses with 1 to 9 employees. In Canada, it tracks growth at small businesses with 1 to 19 employees.

What does it tell us about the economy? 

In the US, Canada, and the UK, the Small Business Index shows the current number of jobs at small businesses. In the US, it also tells us how much monthly revenue small businesses earn, on average, adjusted for inflation. And in the UK, it also shows the number of job vacancies at small businesses. All data is seasonally adjusted.

How much of the economy does it cover?

The Small Business Index provides up-to-date monthly estimates for approximately:

  • 75% of all US employers and 10% of all US jobs (source)
  • 90% of all Canada’s employers and 25% of all Canada’s jobs (source)
  • 80% of all UK employers and 20% of all UK jobs (source)

Data is available nationally, regionally, and by sector. In the US, it’s also available for 20 states: Arizona | California | Colorado | Florida | Georgia | Illinois | Indiana | Michigan | Minnesota | Missouri | New York | North Carolina | Ohio | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Tennessee | Texas | Virginia | Washington | Wisconsin.

What’s the sample and methodology?

The current worldwide sample is more than 533,000 small businesses that manage payroll and invoices on the QuickBooks platform. Before publication, this data is anonymized, adjusted with official statistics, and aggregated by country, region, or sector. Read the methodology or download the full academic paper to learn more. 

The current sample in each country is at least:

  • 463,000 small businesses for the US employment index
  • 352,000 small businesses for the US revenue index
  • 87,000 small businesses for Canada’s employment index
  • 26,000 small businesses for the UK employment and job vacancy indexes

How often is it published? 

The Small Business Index is published monthly, with the previous month’s data added at the beginning of every month. Longer-term trends are available in quarterly and annual reports which include additional insights from official statistics and the quarterly Small Business Insights survey. Get all future release dates from the publication calendar.

Read the latest reports

Monthly reports

Quarterly reports

Annual reports

Academic papers

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index: A New Employment Series for the US, Canada, and the UK

by Ufuk Akcigit, Raman Singh Chhina, Seyit M. Cilasun, Javier Miranda, Eren Ocakverdi, Nicolas Serrano-Velarde

Read now

Credit Card Entrepreneurs

by Ufuk Akcigit, Raman Singh Chhina, Seyit M. Cilasun, Javier Miranda & Nicolas Serrano-Velarde

Read now

Learn more about the Small Business Index

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Publication Calendar

Publication calendar

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index Methodology

Methodology

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index About the Team

About the team


Looking for something else?

QuickBooks

From big jobs to small tasks, we've got your business covered.

See how it works

Firm of the Future

Topical articles and news from top pros and Intuit product experts.

See how it works

QuickBooks Support

Get help with QuickBooks. Find articles, video tutorials, and more.

See how it works