Weekly Hours Worked Increase as Small Business Hiring Challenges Persist

The Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch shows job growth declined again in August while wage growth stabilized. At 98.01, the national jobs index fell 0.17 percent from last month and 0.76 percent over the past quarter, contributing to a 1.22 percent year-over-year drop in the rate of small business job growth. Hourly earnings growth settled at 2.61 percent ($0.69) in August, and weekly hours worked showed positive growth for the first time in 2019.

Read the full news release on the Small Business Employment Watch site.