By Andrew Miller
Small businesses made more money in June. They also employ 12,400 fewer people.
That’s the finding from the latest Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index across 420,000 businesses in 20 states. Still, that leaves roughly 12.8 million people employed around the country.
The biggest decreases came from education and health services, although every sector was affected. Leisure and hospitality jobs are disappearing the fastest. California is losing them the fastest of any state, with 1,800 fewer positions than a month prior. Over in the Southeast, jobs decreased by 3,100.
Now for the other half of the report.
Average real monthly revenue rose 0.40% in June, to $50,330 per business. Revenue grew in eight of 12 sectors and seven of eight regions. Utilities led at nearly 10% growth.
So the money is coming in. The employees are going out. At first glance, it would seem like owners are cutting back on payroll. Reality is nearly the opposite.
According to the NFIB’s June Jobs Report, 62% of owners were hiring or trying to hire. That’s up seven points from May. Nearly a third of them have openings they can’t fill. Further, a net 11% of business owners plan to create new jobs over the next three months. Not just fill existing ones. New ones.
Out of those trying to hire, 84% reported few or no qualified applicants for the roles they were trying to fill. That’s the highest reading since September 2024. Meanwhile, labor costs have cooled since May’s high.
So, owners aren’t holding back on pay. They’re holding open positions.
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