October Paychex Small Business Employment Watch Shows Regional Hurricane Impact

The October Paychex Small Business Employment Watch ?Report reflected the impact of multiple hurricanes in the U.S.? This was seen in the jobs index in Florida (99.62) which fell below 100 for the first time since March 2021.?Tampa had a 1.81 percentage-point decrease to 97.91, making it last among the top U.S. metros for the month. North Carolina dropped 1.13 percentage points to 99.80, declining eleven spots in the state rankings.

“Given the near real-time nature of our data collection, we can already see the unfortunate aftereffects of Hurricanes Milton and Helene on small businesses in Florida and North Carolina,” said John B. Gibson, Jr. , Paychex president and CEO. “The immediate devastation can clearly be seen in notable employment and hours worked growth drops in both states. However, we anticipate a rebound in local jobs and hours worked over the next several months, as well as an increase in job opportunities for workers in surrounding areas to assist in the rebuilding efforts.”

In contrast, The Midwest (100.79) gained 0.40 percentage points to 100.79, remaining the top region for small business employment growth for the fifth consecutive month. Strong gains were seen in Education and Health Services across top-ranked Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin contributing most to job growth in the region.

National Index Shows Modest Job Growth

However, the October national index level was 100.06 for small businesses, indicating modest job growth in U.S. small businesses with less than 50 employees.?The jobs index averaged 100.29 through the first 10 months of 2024.

October earnings growth was 3.02% and weekly earnings growth remained below three percent for the ninth-straight month, reaching its lowest level since August 2021.

“As we enter the last quarter of 2024, we continue to see moderate, stable job growth for small businesses and earnings for their workers remaining steady,” Gibson added. “Employers are still facing challenges like finding qualified employees, controlling benefits costs, and accessing affordable growth capital, but we know from more than a half-century of experience supporting small businesses that they are consistently resilient.”