---
title: "Small Business Job Growth Slows In May"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/7cea231f-88b7-4cc7-a307-ee526943fb33
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/small-business-job-growth-slows-in-may-4787
category: "General"
published: 2016-06-01T15:10:21.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T13:05:22.578Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/5b62bbc8c4e00f58d859d8e8480ea4d26838160531161525.jpg
---

# Small Business Job Growth Slows In May

**TL;DR:** Small business job growth slowed in May, with the Paychex IHS Small Business Index dropping to 100.59, a 0.18 percent fall from April. The index is up 0.22 percent in the first five months of the year versus the same period in 2015.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-06-01. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/small-business-job-growth-slows-in-may-4787).*

## Story

After three months of strong gains, small business job growth is on the decline. According to a CNBC article, the Paychex IHS Small Business Index—which measures same-store, year-over-year changes in worker count to determine employment trends—dropped to 100.59 in May. That’s a 0.18 percent fall from April.

In a statement, Martin Mucci, president and CEO of Paychex, said, “Given the steady results of the past several months, it appears small businesses were not able to maintain the same level of employment growth in May.”

The East South Central region of the U.S. that’s made up of Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama led small business job gains in May. But Washington solidified its spot as the number one job creator for the fifth consecutive month. Seattle was the top metro area for jobs in May with a record index reading of nearly 105.

Despite the most recent Paychex IHS results, small business employment growth remains positive so far in 2016. The index is up 0.22 percent in the first five months of the year versus the same period in 2015.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- General (sector)
- washington (location)
- Seattle (location)
- small business (topic)
- job growth (topic)
- Paychex (company)
- employment trends (topic)
- East South Central (location)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/small-business-job-growth-slows-in-may-4787). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/7cea231f-88b7-4cc7-a307-ee526943fb33).