U.S. Small Business Wage Growth Remains Steady in February

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7:30 AM on Tuesday, March 3

The Associated Press

ROCHESTER, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 3, 2026--

According to the latest Paychex Small Business Employment Watch, the Small Business Jobs Index registered 98.77 in February. Meanwhile, hourly earnings growth among small business workers was 2.78% in February, remaining below three percent for the 16th consecutive month. The Small Business Employment Watch reflects the payroll data of a subset of Paychex U.S. small business clients with fewer than 50 employees.

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According to the latest Paychex Small Business Employment Watch, hourly earnings growth among U.S. small business workers remained below three percent for the 16th consecutive month.

“The pace of job growth across our overall client base has been stable in February with slight growth upmarket among U.S. customers with more than 50 employees, consistent with the last several months,” said John Gibson, Paychex president and CEO. “Wage growth among small business workers has been consistently below three percent for well over a year. The slight increase in our hourly earnings growth for February may be a reflection of the early impacts of minimum wage increases that took effect on January 1 across 19 states and 49 cities and counties.”

Jobs Index and Wage Data Highlights

Hourly earnings growth (2.78%) increased slightly in February yet remained below three percent for the 16th consecutive month.
Weekly hours worked growth (-0.24%) among small business workers has been negative for 58 of the past 60 months.
The Midwest remained the top region for small business employment growth for the 21st consecutive month, with Indiana (100.29) landing as the top state in February.
Financial Activities (99.90) overtook Education and Health Services as the top sector for small business employment growth, marking the first time in five years that Financial Activities ranked first among industries.

About the Paychex Small Business Employment Watch
Since 2014, the Paychex Small Business Employment Watch has been a trusted source of employment trends for U.S. small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. The Employment Watch website offers interactive charts and historical data across the report’s two key components – the jobs index and wage data – as well as the methodology for both analyses. Visit the Bloomberg Terminals or subscribe to receive monthly alerts with the latest data.

*Information regarding the professions included in the industry data can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

About Paychex
Paychex, Inc. (Nasdaq: PAYX) is the digitally driven HR leader that is reimagining how companies address the needs of today’s workforce with the most comprehensive, flexible, and innovative HCM solutions for organizations of all sizes. Offering a full spectrum of HR advisory and employee solutions, Paychex pays 1 out of every 11 American private sector workers and is raising the bar in HCM for approximately 800,000 customers in the U.S. and Europe. Every member of the Paychex team is committed to fulfilling the company’s purpose of helping businesses succeed. Visit paychex.com to learn more.

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CONTACT: Media Contacts

Tracy Volkmann

Paychex, Inc.

Manager, Public Relations

(585) 387-6705

[email protected]

@Paychex

Erin McAward

ICR, Inc.

Account Director

[email protected]