SAN FRANCISCO — Small business hiring in the U.S. maintained its steady momentum into mid-summer, with main street employers adding an estimated 38,200 net new jobs in July, according to the latest Gusto Small Business Jobs Report released Tuesday.
The figure marks the sixth consecutive month of positive job gains for small firms following a temporary post-holiday contraction in January. July’s growth held roughly even with June’s revised total of 40,800 net new positions, reinforcing a trend of stable, sustainable growth after sharper hiring spikes recorded earlier in the spring.
“Six months in, this hiring streak keeps proving itself out — broad and consistent,” said Nich Tremper, Senior Economist at Gusto. “Every region and every company size is still adding jobs. Healthcare continues to lead, and continued positive growth in construction and professional services shows an overall story of small business hiring now. Businesses are valuing stability with their workforces by moderately expanding their payrolls.”
Healthcare Leads Sector Expansion
The strength of July’s report was defined by its broad footprint across industries. Out of 19 tracked sectors, 15 posted positive net gains.
- Health Care & Social Assistance once again served as the primary engine for small business payroll expansion, generating 15,100 net jobs—accounting for more than a third of all net job creation nationwide during the month.
- Construction followed with 4,800 net hires.
- Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services added 3,900 jobs.
- Wholesale Trade and Finance/Insurance both registered solid advances, adding 2,900 and 2,800 jobs, respectively.
The primary outlier in July was the Accommodation and Food Services sector, which shed roughly 1,000 jobs. This marked the second straight month of cooling in hospitality hiring following a brisk start to the year, though economists noted it was not enough to derail overall national momentum.
Geographic & Company Size Breakdown
Job growth was distributed across all major geographic regions, with the Sunbelt and Mid-Atlantic driving the bulk of net expansion:
- South: +12,600 jobs
- Northeast: +10,800 jobs
- Midwest: +8,700 jobs
- West: +6,100 jobs
Additionally, all size categories within the small business spectrum—ranging from micro-enterprises with under 5 employees to mid-sized firms with up to 49 staff members—remained in positive hiring territory. Mid-sized small businesses (20–49 employees) led the charge with 12,600 hires, while smaller tiers (1–9 employees) accelerated compared to June’s figures.
Gusto’s report relies on anonymized, weighted payroll data from a sample of 100,000 U.S. small businesses drawn from its platform of over 500,000 employers.