The Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch shows a slight slowdown in small business job growth, with wage growth also showing a small decline over the past month. The Small Business Jobs Index stands at 99.89, moderating 0.04 percent from the previous month. After reaching a milestone three percent growth rate in August, hourly earnings growth has slowed slightly in the past two months. Hourly earnings in October were $26.07, a gain of 2.91 percent ($0.74) year-over year.

“With a national index level of 99.89, small business job growth continues to moderate, slowing for the eighth consecutive month,” said James Diffley, chief regional economist at IHS Markit.

“While generally stable, the national jobs index dropped slightly in October, undoubtedly impacted to some degree by those communities recently disrupted by natural disasters,” said Martin Mucci , Paychex president and CEO. “In line with last month’s results, we continued to see a slowdown in hours worked in those places recovering from hurricanes in August and September, specifically Houston, Miami, and Tampa.”

October 2017 Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch

National Jobs Index

• The national index is just 0.11 below 100, yet this represents the lowest level since September 2011.
• Though it’s declined over the past three months, the jobs index has moved just 0.09 percent since July, representing the most stable quarter in the history of the jobs index.

National Wage Report

• Hourly earnings gained 2.91 percent year-over-year, slowing slightly from recent months. Both well below the annual growth rate, one-month and three-month annualized growth rates were 2.32 percent and 2.59 percent, respectively.
• At $847.61 in October, weekly earnings growth was up 3.13 percent from a year ago. While 3.13 percent is an improvement from the growth rate posted last October (2.73 percent), the acceleration has slowed in recent months.

Regional Jobs Index

• At 100.58, the South was the only region to improve in October, remaining the strongest region for small business employment growth and the top-ranked region for 18 consecutive months.
• Declining to 99.49, the West is down a full percentage point from a year ago.

Note: Percentages displayed in the regional heat map reflect 12-month changes.

Regional Wage Report

• The West continues to post the fastest weekly earnings growth, 3.68 percent; it is not accelerating, however, averaging 3.65 percent since the start of 2016.
• Weekly earnings growth in the Midwest is experiencing a deceleration, having declined 0.22 percent since February, from 3.09 percent to 2.87 percent.

Note: Percentages displayed in the regional heat map reflect 12-month changes.

State Jobs Index

• Following a significant slowdown in recent months, Georgia had the best one-month growth rate among states in October, recovering some of the employment growth momentum it held as 2017 began.
• Ranked fourth among states to end 2016, New Jersey has quickly slowed to the 16th-ranked state and is under 100 for the first time since October 2015.

Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest states based on U.S. population. The chart’s dark blue bars reflect the index level and the light blue diamonds reflect the 12-month change.

State Wage Report

• Affected by a sizable drop in weekly hours, weekly earnings in Florida fell sharply.
• Hourly earnings growth in California increased to 3.89 percent, closing its second-place gap to Arizona.
• Each of the large Midwestern states saw declining wage growth in October.

Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest states based on U.S. population

Metropolitan Jobs Index

• Improving 0.48 percent in October, Denver surged to second place among metros to join Minneapolis as the only other metro index above 101.
• Falling more than two percent during the past two months, Dallas fell to the lower half of the metro growth rankings for the first time since 2011.

Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest metro areas based on U.S. population. The chart’s dark blue bars reflect the index level and the light blue diamonds reflect the 12-month change.

Metropolitan Wage Report

• Likely affected by Hurricane Irma, Miami and Tampa are the two weakest metros for weekly earnings and hours growth in October.
• After ranking last in hourly and weekly earnings, as well as weekly hours worked, last October, Houston was surging prior to Hurricane Harvey; earnings continue to trend in a positive direction, slowing slightly, while hours worked have stalled and are near the weakest among metros once again.
• Riverside, CA ranked first in hourly earnings growth in October, 4.83 percent, while Chicago was last at 1.78 percent.

Note: Analysis is provided for the 20 largest metro areas based on U.S. population.

Industry Jobs Index

• With its fourth consecutive gain, Construction improved to 100.67 in October.
• At 98.71, Professional and Business Services declined to the last-ranked industry in October, where Manufacturing had resided for 31 straight months.

Note: Analysis is provided for seven major industry sectors. The chart’s dark blue bars reflect the index level and the light blue diamonds reflect the 12-month change.

Industry Wage Report

• After decelerating during 2016, Construction weekly earnings have trended upward all year, reaching 3.34 percent year-over-year growth in October.
• Hourly earnings growth in Trade, Transportation, and Utilities has improved quickly in 2017, starting at 3.04 percent in January and currently at 3.91 percent in October.

Note: Analysis is provided for seven major industry sectors.

For more information about the Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch, including interactive charts detailing all data at a national, regional, state, metro, and industry level, visit www.paychex.com/employment-watch and sign up to receive monthly Employment Watch alerts.

*Information regarding the professions included in the industry data can be found at the Bureau of Labor Statistics website .

About the Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch
The Paychex | IHS Markit Small Business Employment Watch is released each month by Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of payroll, human resource, insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small-to medium-sized businesses, and IHS Markit, a world leader in critical information, analytics, and expertise. Focused exclusively on small business, the monthly report offers analysis of national employment and wage trends, as well as examines regional, state, metro, and industry sector activity. Drawing from the payroll data of approximately 350,000 Paychex clients, this powerful tool delivers real-time insights into the small business trends driving the U.S. economy.

About Paychex
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by 45 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 605,000 payroll clients as of May 31, 2017 across more than 100 locations and pays one out of every 12 American private sector employees. Learn more about Paychex by visiting www.paychex.com , and stay connected on Twitter and LinkedIn .

About IHS Markit ( www.ihsmarkit.com )
IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO) is a world leader in critical information, analytics and expertise for the major industries and markets that drive economies worldwide. The company delivers next-generation information, analytics and solutions to customers in business, finance and government, improving their operational efficiency and providing deep insights that lead to well-informed, confident decisions. IHS Markit has more than 50,000 key business and government customers, including 85 percent of the Fortune Global 500 and the world’s leading financial institutions. Headquartered in London, IHS Markit is committed to sustainable, profitable growth.

IHS Markit is a registered trademark of IHS Markit Ltd and/or its affiliates. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners © 2017 IHS Markit Ltd. All rights reserved.

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