🇺🇸 Employment at small U.S. businesses is contracting rapidly. Firms with 20–49 employees cut -30,000 jobs in January, marking the 5th consecutive monthly decline. Employment has fallen in 14 of the last 17 months, with payrolls down -296,000 to 22.5M the lowest since Aug 2022. This is the largest contraction since the 2020 pandemic. Small businesses are behaving as if the economy is in recession. ⚠️📉

🇺🇸 Employment at small U.S. businesses is contracting rapidly.

Firms with 20–49 employees cut -30,000 jobs in January, marking the 5th consecutive monthly decline.

Employment has fallen in 14 of the last 17 months, with payrolls down -296,000 to 22.5M the lowest since Aug 2022.

This is the largest contraction since the 2020 pandemic.

Small businesses are behaving as if the economy is in recession. ⚠️📉