Employment growth at small businesses moderated slightly in March, but wages continued to increase, according to payroll giant Paychex.
The Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch, released Tuesday, found that small business job growth remained near its recent record high, but dipped 0.03% in March. However, the national jobs index at 101.29 increased 7.47% over the past year, while hourly earnings growth grew 4.76% year-over-year.
The results indicate that the labor shortage is still affecting employment levels as small businesses have to work hard to compete for workers against larger companies that can offer higher wages and benefits.
While employment growth in March slipped slightly in March, it’s still near record levels on the index. “It’s been growing every month, so sooner or later it’s going to have to go down a little bit or not grow as much, and we’ve seen that,” said Frank Fiorille, vice president…
