New York small businesses are experiencing a shift in the job market, according to the latest data from the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index. The index showed a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.17% in February, indicating that despite high interest rates, small businesses are able to retain their strength and expand their workforces.
Small businesses often face challenges when it comes to hiring due to their limited resources and inability to offer competitive salaries and benefits like health insurance. However, the CBIZ index monitors hiring trends among thousands of companies with 300 or fewer employees across the country, and shows that small businesses are holding on to their strength, with many expanding their workforces steadily in February.
About 20% of companies in the index increased their staff while 60% made no changes and 20% reduced staff. Some industries saw gains in hiring, including administrative and support services, arts and entertainment, and technology and life sciences. Others experienced decreases such as accommodation and food services, insurance, and utilities.
Regionally, the West, Southeast, and Central regions saw slight increases in hiring while the Northeast region saw a slight decline. These trends mirror the broader market where U.S employers added 275,000 jobs in February exceeding expectations. This growth follows a revised gain of 229,000 jobs in January highlighting the resilience of U.S economy amid high interest rates. Overall this data suggests that small businesses are optimistic about future prospects and actively seeking to expand their workforces
