Small businesses in New York may be starting to see improvement in hiring concerns, according to the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index. In February, there was a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.17%, indicating that the U.S. economy remains strong despite high interest rates. Despite their inability to offer competitive salaries and benefits like health insurance, small businesses often struggle to retain employees. The CBIZ index monitors hiring trends among thousands of companies with 300 or fewer employees nationwide.
Anna Rathbun, chief investment officer of CBIZ, noted that the unexpected strength of the U.S. economy has allowed small businesses to steadily expand their workforce in February. According to the index, 20% of companies increased hiring, 60% made no changes to their staffing levels, and 20% reduced their workforce. Some industries saw hiring gains while others experienced decreases. For instance, administrative services, arts, entertainment, and technology sectors saw increases in hiring while accommodations and food services experienced decreases in employment opportunities.
Regionally, the West, Southeast, and Central regions experienced slight increases in hiring while the Northeast region saw a slight decline in job market performance for small businesses aligns with broader employment landscape in the U.S., where employers added 275
