Job growth at the smallest businesses has fallen to the lowest levels in nearly eight years as tiny companies struggle to attract and retain workers in the tightest U.S. job market in half a century.
The number of people employed by companies with fewer than 20 workers grew by less than 1% in both March and April, compared with the same months a year earlier, according to an analysis by Moody’s Analytics for The Wall Street Journal. Hiring at the smallest businesses hasn’t been this low since May 2011, when the economy was still recovering from the financial crisis.
Low unemployment and rising wages are creating hiring challenges for companies of all sizes. There were 7.5 million unfilled jobs on the last business day of March, according to the Labor Department.
Smaller businesses often experience lower job growth, but they seem to be having a particularly tough time adding workers in today’s job market. Companies with fewer than 20 workers boosted headcount by just 0.9% in April compared with a year earlier, according to Moody’s Analytics, which examined data from payroll processor ADP. That trails the 3.5% increase at businesses with 500 to 999 employees and the 1.8% gain at the largest companies.
Roughly 17% of private-sector workers—or nearly 21 million Americans—work at companies with fewer than 20 employees, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Read the full story.
