Hourly Earnings Growth Ends the Year at a New High; Job Growth Also Continues at U.S. Small Businesses

Workers saw record hourly earnings growth and employment levels continued to rise as 2021 drew to a close. This is according to the aggregated payroll data of approximately 350,000 Paychex clients with fewer than 50 employees, released monthly in the Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch. The December data shows hourly earnings growth improved to 4.27 percent, the highest level since reporting began ten years ago. Hiring at small businesses also ended the year on a high note with the Small Business Jobs Index improving 7.31 percent from the prior year and 0.22 percent for the month.

Read the full news release on the Small Business Employment Watch site.