America’s small businesses continued their hiring momentum in May 2026, adding an estimated 83,900 net new jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to Gusto’s latest Small Business Jobs Report. The report marks the fourth consecutive month of positive net hiring and reflects the strongest four-month stretch of small business job growth since last summer.
Gusto’s May 2026 Small Business Jobs Report highlighted broad-based hiring growth across industries, regions, and company sizes, signaling continued labor market resilience among U.S. small businesses heading into the summer hiring season.
The report noted that 17 out of 19 sectors posted positive net hires during May, while all four U.S. regions and every company size tier added jobs. The hiring performance significantly exceeded the 12-month average of +52,600 net new jobs.
"Small businesses have now added jobs for four straight months, and May showed that this isn't a story about one or two sectors carrying the load — it's broad," said Nich Tremper, Sr. Economist at Gusto. "Health care, hospitality, construction, and retail are all growing. That kind of widespread participation is what a healthy small business labor market looks like, and it's an encouraging sign heading into summer."
Health Care and Social Assistance emerged as the leading hiring sector in May, adding +20,200 net hires and accelerating from April’s +16,900 gains. Accommodation and Food Services followed with +14,400 net hires as seasonal summer staffing activity increased.
Administrative and Support Services added +8,700 jobs, while Retail Trade contributed +8,400 net hires. Construction added +8,000 jobs and maintained its position among the top-performing sectors for the fourth consecutive month.
Only two sectors recorded job losses during the month: Management of Companies (-400) and Utilities (-200).
Regionally, the South once again led all U.S. regions with +36,200 net hires, continuing a sustained period of labor market strength. The Northeast followed with +22,400 net hires, while the West rebounded from weaker April numbers to add +13,000 jobs. The Midwest contributed +12,300 net hires during the month.
The report also showed that hiring momentum expanded across multiple company size categories. Businesses with 20–49 employees led overall gains with +36,400 net hires, while companies with 5–9 and 10–19 employees also posted accelerated hiring growth.
Even the smallest businesses, those with 1–4 employees, added +8,800 jobs, extending several consecutive months of positive hiring activity and signaling growing confidence across the broader small business economy.
Looking ahead, Gusto indicated that continued strength in hospitality hiring, durable health care sector gains, and broad hiring participation across regions and company sizes point toward sustained labor market momentum through the summer months.
About the Gusto Small Business Jobs Report
The Gusto Small Business Jobs Report provides a real-time view of hiring among the 500,000+ U.S. small businesses on Gusto. All figures are based on anonymized payroll data, statistically weighted to be nationally representative by size, industry, region, and company age, and seasonally adjusted using the U.S. Census Bureau's X-13ARIMA-SEATS methodology.
About Gusto
Gusto is the leading partner for small businesses, helping them with a wide variety of critical tasks, including payroll, health benefits, tax credits, compliance, 401(k), HR, and much more. Gusto serves over 500,000 small businesses across the US and is on a multi-decade journey to grow the small business economy with technology and heart.
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