US Small Business Jobs Report: Monthly employment data & trends

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• Current jobs report highlights
• Interactive jobs dashboard
• About the jobs report methodology
• Archive of monthly deep-dives

Latest US jobs report highlights

The March 2026 US Jobs Report for small businesses shows a steady decrease in hiring. According to the latest Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, small businesses (1-9 employees) decreased by 45,300 jobs in February 2026, a monthly decline of 0.36%. Total small business employment now stands at 12,626,500.

Key trends this month:

• By sector: The leisure & hospitality sector decreased by 11,300 jobs this month, the fastest decline (-0.68%) of any industry.
• By region: The Great Lakes had the fastest decline (-0.41%) while the Southeast had the largest decrease (-10,400 jobs). 
• By state: Ohio had the fastest decline (-0.53%) while California had the largest decrease (-4,700 jobs).

Interactive small business jobs dashboard

Explore the full jobs report data using the interactive tool below. Filter the latest employment numbers by industry (NAICS), US region, or state to see how the small business labor market is performing in your area or industry.

How to use this dashboard:

• Annual data: Toggle between “Total Employment” and “Employment Growth” to see the long-term trajectory of small business jobs growth.
• Map view: Select “Employment by Region” to see region-specific growth rates and total employee counts.
• State view: Select “Employment by State” to see employment trends across 20 states tracked by the Small Business Index. 
• Sector view: Select "Employment by Sector" to see hiring trends across 12 industries, from Construction to Tech.

About this jobs report: Data & methodology

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Jobs Report is a monthly series powered by the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index. 

Unlike the standard monthly jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), which often lags or focuses on larger firms, our Index uses anonymized data from nearly 475,000 QuickBooks customers. This allows us to provide a high-frequency, "bottom-up" view of the economy, focusing specifically on businesses with one to nine employees. Visit the methodology page for more information.

• Focus: Small businesses with 1-9 employees.
• Accuracy: Calibrated against official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data.
• Frequency: Refreshed on the first week of every month.

Monthly reports & detailed analysis

While this page provides the most current data, you can find our detailed monthly commentary and historical analysis in our archive:

Disclaimer

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