Small businesses added an estimated 32,900 new jobs in June — led by the Health Care and Social Assistance sector — marking the fifth consecutive month of positive net hiring across all sectors, according to the June 2026 Small Business Jobs Report from Gusto, a leading payroll, HR, and benefits platform.
The Health Care and Social Assistance sector added about 14,300 new hires last month and was among 14 of 19 sectors posting positive net hires. Additionally, small businesses in all U.S. regions (led by the South) added jobs, and every company size tier (led by companies with 20 to 49 employees) stayed in positive territory — a sign that the small business labor market continues to broadly expand, according to Gusto.
“We’ve now seen five straight months of positive small business job growth, and health care continued its run at the top,” said Nich Tremper, a senior economist at Gusto, noting that the sector’s growth pace slowed in June, down from May’s 17,300 hires.
Collectively, June’s seasonally adjusted net hires came in below the 12-month average of 45,900 added jobs and was the softest month of the five-month positive run. On a seasonally adjusted basis, small businesses made 2.53 million hires against 2.50 million terminations in June. Compared with the same month a year ago, hires were up 1.0% while terminations rose 3.2%, a sign that churn is running “a touch hotter even as net job creation slows,” Gusto officials said.
The most notable hiring reversal came in hospitality: Accommodation and Food Services, which added 5,500 in May, swung to a loss of 1,500 in June. Construction (+6,100 net hires); Professional, Scientific, and Technical services (+3,800); Administrative and Support Services (+2,300); and Finance Insurance (+2,200) rounded out the top five hiring sectors for June.
“Five consecutive months of positive net hiring confirm that the small business labor market is still expanding, but June’s moderation suggests the spring surge was a high-water mark rather than a new baseline,” according to a statement from Gusto. “With churn ticking up and hospitality pulling back, the pace of gains may slow further in the months ahead. The durability of health care, the persistence of construction gains, and broad positive participation across all regions and company sizes remain encouraging signals as the summer labor market settles in.”