Main Street Health Report
August 2025
Labor and wage stats
Every month we measure how small businesses are actually doing, from the timesheets of more than 100,000 of them: who is working, how many hours, what they are paid, and how that compares with the same month in previous years.
Workforce participation dropped -3.0% in Aug 2025, consistent with -2.8% in 2024 and -3.2% in 2023, showing that late-summer dips are part of the annual cycle
- Hourly employees
- 2M+
- Small businesses
- 100K+
- Measured, not surveyed
- Timesheet data
Hourly employees
Small businesses
Measured, not surveyed
Main Street at a glance
The top things to know this month
-3.0%
Workforce participation dropped -3.0% in Aug 2025, consistent with -2.8% in 2024 and -3.2% in 2023, showing that late-summer dips are part of the annual cycle
-3.0%
‘Hours Worked’ fell -3.0% in Aug 2025, closely tracking -2.5% in 2024 and -3.2% in 2023. Businesses typically trim scheduling in late summer as demand cools before the fall ramp-up.
-2.3%
Businesses open fell across all regions, led by the Northeast (-2.3%). Workforce participation also declined, with the Southeast (-4.1%) leading. Unlike 2024, this year August saw larger decline in workforce participation in all regions
What the data shows
Each finding below takes one measure of Main Street, participation, hours, wages, hiring and turnover, and compares August 2025 with the same month in the two years before it. Every chart is drawn from the figures, which are published alongside it for anyone who wants to check or reuse them.
Employees Working
Employee Participation Declines, Matching Seasonal Dips
Workforce participation dropped -3.0% in Aug 2025, consistent with -2.8% in 2024 and -3.2% in 2023, showing that late-summer dips are part of the annual cycle
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 1.4% | 2.1% | (1.4%) |
| Feb – Mar | 0.1% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
| Mar – Apr | 1.5% | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| Apr – May | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| May – Jun | 1.8% | 2.5% | 1.9% |
| Jun – Jul | (0.4%) | (1.9%) | (0.6%) |
| Jul – Aug | (3.2%) | (2.8%) | (2.9%) |
Hours Worked
Hours Worked Fall in August, Consistent With Prior Years
‘Hours Worked’ fell -3.0% in Aug 2025, closely tracking -2.5% in 2024 and -3.2% in 2023. Businesses typically trim scheduling in late summer as demand cools before the fall ramp-up.
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Hours Worked”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 1.5% | 2.7% | (1.4%) |
| Feb – Mar | 0.9% | 2.1% | 2.9% |
| Mar – Apr | 0.6% | (0.6%) | 0.6% |
| Apr – May | 1.6% | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| May – Jun | 2.2% | 2.7% | 1.8% |
| Jun – Jul | (0.1%) | (2.0%) | (0.2%) |
| Jul – Aug | (3.1%) | (2.5%) | (2.9%) |
Homebase data, by region
Business Activity Declined Across All Regions in August
Businesses open fell across all regions, led by the Northeast (-2.3%). Workforce participation also declined, with the Southeast (-4.1%) leading. Unlike 2024, this year August saw larger decline in workforce participation in all regions
(Month-over-month change in core economic indicators, by Census region)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | no data | −2.0% | −1.8% |
| Northeast | no data | −2.5% | −2.1% |
| Southeast | no data | −1.5% | −1.5% |
| Southwest | no data | +3.4% | −1.9% |
| West | no data | −1.4% | −1.4% |
| Mid-Atlantic | no data | −1.5% | −1.5% |
| Other | no data | −4.5% | −2.2% |
Region classification - Midwest: ND, SD, NE, KS, MN, IA, MO, WI, IL, IN, OH, MI; West: NV, UT, AZ, NM, CO, WY, MT, ID, OR, WA,
Employees Working
Entertainment & Caregiving Face Stronger Headwinds
Entertainment, Caregiving, and Home & Repair posted the steepest contractions since 2023, while Medical/Veterinary outperformed. Reopening of schools likely contributed to lower ‘Employees Working’ in seasonal industries
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 1.4% | 2.1% | (1.4%) |
| Feb – Mar | 0.1% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
| Mar – Apr | 1.5% | 0.3% | 1.1% |
| Apr – May | 1.0% | 1.1% | 0.4% |
| May – Jun | 1.8% | 2.5% | 1.9% |
| Jun – Jul | (0.4%) | (1.9%) | (0.6%) |
| Jul – Aug | (3.2%) | (2.8%) | (2.9%) |
Entertainment includes events/festivals, sports/recreation, parks, movie theaters, and other categories.
Hourly Wages
Wage Growth Slows Into Late Summer
Wage inflation moderated in August, with SMBs easing payroll expansion after early-summer hiring surges.
(Percent change in average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs, relative to January 2022)
| Period | All industries |
|---|---|
| Point 1 | 1.3% |
| Point 2 | 1.1% |
| Point 3 | 2.7% |
| Point 4 | 3.3% |
| Point 5 | 3.7% |
| Point 6 | 4.4% |
| Point 7 | 5.1% |
| Point 8 | 6.0% |
| Point 9 | 7.3% |
| Point 10 | 7.7% |
| Point 11 | 9.4% |
| Jan'23 | 11.8% |
| Point 13 | 13.4% |
| Point 14 | 13.5% |
| Point 15 | 14.1% |
| Point 16 | 15.0% |
| Point 17 | 15.7% |
| Point 18 | 16.6% |
| Point 19 | 16.7% |
| Point 20 | 18.5% |
| Point 21 | 19.8% |
| Point 22 | 21.2% |
| Point 23 | 22.2% |
| Jan'24 | 24.7% |
| Point 25 | 25.9% |
| Point 26 | 25.8% |
| Point 27 | 26.5% |
| Point 28 | 26.9% |
| Point 29 | 27.5% |
| Point 30 | 27.9% |
| Point 31 | 28.5% |
| Point 32 | 29.3% |
| Point 33 | 29.8% |
| Point 34 | 30.9% |
| Point 35 | 31.4% |
| Jan'25 | 33.7% |
| Point 37 | 35.6% |
| Point 38 | 35.8% |
| Point 39 | 35.9% |
| Point 40 | 35.9% |
| Point 41 | 36.6% |
| Point 42 | 37.5% |
| Aug'25 | 37.3% |
Hourly Wages
Wages Grew Slightly, Continuing Modest Upward Momentum
Most sectors saw modest wage growth month-on-month (+1% in Entertainment, +1% in Professional Services), while Food & Drink reversed last year’s gains with a -0.17% drop
(Average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)
| Category | August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Food & Drink | $13.48 |
| Entertainment | $14.44 |
| Retail | $15.03 |
| Health Care | $19.71 |
| Professional Services | $17.48 |
Number of Jobs Added
Hiring Jumped Nearly 10%, Strongest August Uptick Since
Job additions rose ~10% m/m, the largest August increase in three years. This suggests businesses actively hired to backfill for the increased turnover and not to expand their roster size.
(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Added” across all jobs)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 2.0% | 3.1% | 5.0% |
| Feb – Mar | (3.3%) | 0.7% | 0.4% |
| Mar – Apr | 7.3% | 7.0% | 5.5% |
| Apr – May | 3.8% | 2.8% | 6.4% |
| May – Jun | (1.4%) | 1.2% | (0.4%) |
| Jun – Jul | (7.0%) | (11.7%) | (11.4%) |
| Jul – Aug | 5.4% | 8.1% | 10.3% |
Number of Jobs Archived
Turnover Surged 17%, Highest August Exit Rate Since 2023
Turnover surged +17% in August, the highest since 2023. Seasonal student exits, voluntary churn, and SMB staffing resets drove the spike, fueling the parallel rise in hiring
(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Archived” across all jobs)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | (3.9%) | (1.7%) | 0.4% |
| Feb – Mar | (2.1%) | (0.1%) | (3.9%) |
| Mar – Apr | 3.7% | 9.6% | 2.5% |
| Apr – May | 7.7% | 6.0% | 3.4% |
| May – Jun | 1.9% | (10.8%) | 1.2% |
| Jun – Jul | (0.2%) | (4.8%) | (5.9%) |
| Jul – Aug | 12.1% | 5.7% | 9.5% |
How we measure Main Street
The dataset is based on Homebase data gathered from more than 100,000 businesses and 2 million hourly employees active in the US on our platform, one of the largest and most trusted sources of real-time data on employment growth across the small business landscape.
Data from prior years uses similar cohort-based logic. Unless indicated otherwise, daily figures are calculated relative to the median value for that specific day for the baseline month, net of the first four days of the month.
Every chart on this page is drawn from the underlying figures rather than copied from the PDF. Those figures come from the same model the report is built on, which is refreshed each month as more timesheets land, so a value here may differ slightly from the one printed in the original slide. The PDF stays available above as published.
If you use any content from this report, please include a link to joinhomebase.com.
Measured from timesheets, not surveys
- Hourly employees
- 2M+
- Small businesses
- 100K+
Hourly employees
Small businesses
- Hours worked
Calculated from hours recorded in Homebase timecards.
- Businesses open
Based on whether a business had at least one employee clock-in.
- Employees working
The distinct number of hourly workers with at least one clock-in.
- Wage inflation
The monthly change in average hourly wages at businesses that ran Payroll with Homebase in March 2026 and March 2025.
The story behind the numbers
Read the monthly analysis
Every month the team writes up what these figures mean for the people running the businesses behind them: what changed, what it costs, and what to do about it.
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