Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, March 2023

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index is a timely new measure of small business employment and hiring in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. The Index launched in March 2023 and is updated monthly. The Index uses purpose-built economic models to normalize anonymised QuickBooks data to reflect the general population of small businesses in each country; it is not a reflection of Intuit’s business. The Index was developed in collaboration with leading economist Professor Ufuk Akcigit and an international team of researchers and academics.

Get the latest employment and hiring data insights for small businesses in the US, Canada, and the U.K. by following the links below.

U.S. Index | Canada Index | U.K. Index | Methodology | About

U.S. Index — Small Business Employment

-7,600 jobs (-0.06%)

In the U.S. in February, small businesses with one to nine employees employed 7,600 fewer people nationally compared to the previous month. That’s a monthly decrease of -0.06% to 12,812,700 jobs.

Sectors which saw the largest decreases in employment were:

• Information (NAICS 51) with a -0.6% drop to 287,700 jobs

• Manufacturing (NAICS 31-33) with a -0.33% drop to 1,246,100 jobs

• Finance and real estate (NAICS 52-53) with a -0.24% drop to 840,200 jobs

Sectors which saw the largest increases in employment were:

• Utilities (NAICS 22) with 0.56% growth to 660,200 jobs

• Natural resources and mining (NAICS 11; 21) with 0.29% growth to 180,400 jobs

• Leisure and hospitality (NAICS 71-72) with 0.27% growth to 1,521,900 jobs

The Mideast region (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania) saw the largest decrease, with a drop of -0.18%, to 1,926,800 jobs. But employment in the New England region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont) grew by 0.33% to 645,700.

Get all the details from the interactive Small Business Index dashboard.

Media inquiries - Media contact details for QuickBooks in the U.S. can be found here on the Intuit website.

Canada Index — Small Business Employment

-8,700 jobs (-0.17%)

In Canada in February, small businesses with one to 19 employees employed 8,700 fewer people nationally compared to the previous month. That’s a monthly decrease of -0.17% to 5,201,500 jobs. In Canada, the Index publishes employment data insights for businesses with one to 19 employees, rather than one to nine, because this more closely matches the official statistics used for calibration.

Sectors which saw the largest decreases in employment were: 

• Finance and real estate (NAICS 52-53) with a drop of -0.43% to 354,400 jobs

• Construction (NAICS 23) with a drop of −0.26% to 544,800 jobs.

• Professional services (NAICS 54) with a drop of −0.17% to 406,700 jobs

Sectors which saw the largest increases in employment were:

• Accommodation and food services (NAICS 72) with an increase of 2.45% to 523,600 jobs

• Education (NAICS 61) with an increase of 1.19% to 173,600 jobs

• Business services (NAICS 55-56) with an increase of 1.16% to 226,600 jobs

Ontario saw the largest decrease, with a drop of -0.29% to 1,917,100 jobs, but employment in Québec grew by 0.91% to 1,070,500 jobs.  

Get all the details from the interactive Small Business Index dashboard.

Media inquiries - Media contact details for QuickBooks in Canada can be found here on the Intuit website.

UK Index — Small Business Job Vacancies

-3,800 vacancies (-2.5%)

In the U.K. in February, small businesses with one to nine employees had 3,800 fewer job vacancies compared to the previous month. That’s a monthly decrease of -2.5% to 150,200 job vacancies. The U.K. Index publishes job vacancy data insights rather than employment data insights because official employment statistics are not currently available on a monthly basis for small businesses in the U.K. The official statistics are used for calibration.

Sectors which saw the largest decreases in job vacancies were: 

• Finance and insurance (SIC K), with a drop of -6.88% to 6,700 job vacancies

• Accommodation and food services (SIC I) with a drop of -5.94% to 9,200 job vacancies

• Administrative and support services (SIC N) with a drop of -5.93% to 1,800 job vacancies

The only sector which saw an increase in job vacancies was: 

• Education (SIC P) with an increase of 1.68% to 15,900 job vacancies

Wales saw the largest decrease in the UK, with a drop of -7.35% to 5,000 job vacancies. Northern Ireland saw the smallest decrease, with a drop of -1.71% to 2,300 job vacancies.

Get all the details from the interactive Small Business Index dashboard.

Media inquiries - Media contact details for QuickBooks in the U.K. can be found here on the QuickBooks U.K. website.

Methodology

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index creates aggregated data outputs from a sample of anonymised QuickBooks Online Payroll customer records which are calibrated using statistical methods to create modeled results which better reflect the general population of small businesses in each country, as represented by published official statistics. Statistical adjustment ensures the Index truly reflects employment and job vacancy changes rather than trends in the QuickBooks customer base. Get the full methodology here. 

Rounded values

Total and monthly changes in employment and job vacancies have been rounded to the nearest hundred. Monthly changes and growth rates are calculated before total employment or job vacancy values are rounded. Rates have been rounded to the nearest hundredth.

Seasonal adjustments

The Index’s data insights are seasonally adjusted to limit the effect of seasonal patterns in employment and hiring throughout the year, which lead to regular fluctuations in workforce growth and contraction.

Employment growth formula

Employment growth(t) = [Employment(t)-Employment(t-1)]/[0.5*Employment(t)+0.5*Employment(t-1)]

Time series

The Index uses data going back to January 2015 in the U.S. and Canada and January 2018 in the UK. Published at the earliest opportunity every month, the Index shows the number of people employed by small businesses (U.S. and Canada) or the number of job vacancies at small businesses (UK) in the previous month and how that number has changed since the month before. So, in March, the Index shows total employment or job vacancies in February and the monthly growth rate — up or down — compared to January. The Index helps to eliminate almost all of the time lags in official statistics — for example, of up to nine months in the U.S. — by providing estimated projections of what those statistics will ultimately show when they are published.

Sample sizes and target populations

The total sample across all three countries is around 424,000 small businesses. The U.S. sample is almost 333,000 small businesses. The Canadian sample is almost 66,000 small businesses. The U.K. sample is almost 25,000 small businesses. In the U.S. and UK, the Index targets the populations of small businesses with one to nine employees. In Canada, the target series is small businesses with one to 19 employees. This ensures the data outputs are consistent with official statistics available for benchmarking during the calibration process. Data insights for these target populations are particularly valuable since most datasets fail to cover this portion of the economy well. Please note: Unlike the U.S. and Canada Indexes, the U.K. Index uses job vacancy data for calibration rather than employment data because official employment statistics are not currently available on a monthly basis for small businesses. 

External data sources

External data sources used alongside anonymous QuickBooks data include:

• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics (BED) and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) 

• U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis regions

• Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey and regions

• U.K. Office of National Statistics job vacancy data

Geographic regions

• USA data insights are divided into Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) regions

• Canada data insights are divided into Statistics Canada regions

• U.K. data insights are currently available at the country level (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), not regionally within countries.

Industry sectors

• USA and Canada data insights are available by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sectors 

• U.K. data insights are available by U.K. Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities (SIC) sectors (known as “sections”).

About the Index

Watch this short video featuring Professor Ufuk Akcigit to learn more.

Recommended for you

Methodology - Get the science behind the Index, including data sources, sample sizes, and calculations.

FAQs - Get the answers to the most common questions people ask about the Index

Calendar - Find out when the next Index data will be published and sign up for email alerts.

Disclaimer

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