Small business jobs grew by an estimated 28,000 net new positions in September on a seasonally adjusted basis. The figure comes from the latest Gusto Small Business Jobs and Pay Report. It marks the eighth consecutive month of positive hiring following January’s dip.
September’s gain picked up from August, which was revised down to 18,500 net new jobs from an initial estimate of 29,500. The pace of small business jobs growth still stayed below the 12-month average of 34,000. Hiring continued at a cooler pace than earlier in the year.
Nich Tremper, Senior Economist at Gusto, said the bigger story is who is doing the hiring. “For the second month running, it’s the smallest employers, companies with just five to nine employees, adding more jobs than any other size tier,” he said.
Small Business Jobs by Sector
Hiring stayed broad even as growth cooled. Fourteen of 19 sectors, all four U.S. regions and every company size tier added jobs in September.
Health Care and Social Assistance led all sectors for an eighth straight month with 13,000 net hires. Other Services followed with 3,400, and Construction added 2,500.
The report describes the spread across sectors as narrower than earlier in the year. A majority of the small business economy still added jobs.
Regional Hiring and Pay
Small business jobs grew in every region. The South held its position atop all regions with 13,000 net hires, up from 9,300 in August. The West added 7,500 jobs, the Midwest 4,300 and the Northeast 3,000.
Average Hourly Earnings across small business employees rose 4.0% year over year to $37.40. Starting pay for newly hired workers climbed 3.1% to about $25.80 an hour, according to the New Hire Pay Index. That index tracks a three-month rolling average of starting pay for newly hired workers. Wage growth has hovered around 4% for most of 2026, ranging from about 3.9% to 4.6%.
Wage growth was strongest in the West. Small business pay there rose 5.3% year over year to $42.00 an hour, the highest growth and the highest pay of any region. The Northeast and the South grew at roughly the national rate of 4.0%. The Midwest trailed at 3.0% growth, with the lowest average hourly earnings of the four regions at $32.91.
Tremper said pay keeps climbing faster than inflation, especially out West. He added that owners are being selective about who they hire and paying up to keep them.
Micro-Businesses Lead the Size Tiers
All four company size tiers posted positive net hires. Businesses with 5 to 9 employees led with 13,000 net hires. The 20 to 49 employee tier added 6,000, the 10 to 19 tier added 5,200, and the 1 to 4 tier added 3,600.
The 5 to 9 employee tier led for a second straight month. It outpaced the 20 to 49 and 10 to 19 employee tiers combined.
Recent monthly small business jobs totals show how the pace has moved: May added 38,000 jobs, June 36,000 and July 39,700. July was revised down from 42,400, and the report notes that the most recent months are subject to revision as more payroll data arrives.
How the Report Counts
The report tracks anonymized payroll data from a stratified random sample of roughly 100,000 small businesses with 1 to 49 employees. They are drawn from the 500,000-plus companies on Gusto. All figures are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise noted.
Owners weighing small business jobs and hiring against other pressures can read how operational shifts in 2026 are pressing small businesses. One company profiled on the site, Willow Hill Soap Company, grew from a basement operation to two locations. Peer strategies also appear in coverage of a small business council networking breakfast on word-of-mouth growth.