Main Street Health Report
June 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.
Hours worked increased 1.8%, mirroring headcount gains and suggesting more stable scheduling. Trends remain seasonally resilient but softer than prior years.
- 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
1.8%
Hours worked increased 1.8%, mirroring headcount gains and suggesting more stable scheduling. Trends remain seasonally resilient but softer than prior years.
Homebase data, by region
Regional divergence widens: Southwest lags, while Southeast and West see rising hours and staffing despite fewer open businesses.
30.0%
Gains Entertainment remains the most resilient sector in 2025, while growth in personal services continues but slows relative to 2024. 30.0% 24.8% 25.1%
What the data shows
Each finding below takes one measure of Main Street, participation, hours, wages, hiring and turnover, and compares June 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.
Hours Worked
Employee Hours Bounce Back After Spring Slowdown
Hours worked increased 1.8%, mirroring headcount gains and suggesting more stable scheduling. Trends remain seasonally resilient but softer than prior years.
(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% |
Homebase data, by region
Midwest and Northeast Extend Gains, While South Stalls
Regional divergence widens: Southwest lags, while Southeast and West see rising hours and staffing despite fewer open businesses.
(Month-over-month change in core economic indicators, by Census region)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | no data | +0.8% | +1.1% |
| Northeast | no data | +1.0% | +1.1% |
| Southeast | no data | −0.5% | −1.0% |
| Southwest | no data | +0.3% | −1.6% |
| West | no data | −0.2% | −0.5% |
| Mid-Atlantic | no data | +1.4% | +0.7% |
| Other | no data | +0.2% | −0.2% |
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 and Personal Services Power June Industry Gains
Entertainment remains the most resilient sector in 2025, while growth in personal services continues but slows relative to 2024.
(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% |
Entertainment includes events/festivals, sports/recreation, parks, movie theaters, and other categories.
Hourly Wages
Wages Rebound Slightly Across Most Sectors
All major industries posted slight wage gains, but the pace lags typical summer increases. Sectoral stratification remains consistent.
(Average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)
| Category | June 2025 |
|---|---|
| Food & Drink | $13.43 |
| Entertainment | $14.29 |
| Retail | $14.99 |
| Health Care | $19.69 |
| Professional Services | $17.46 |
Number of Jobs Added
Hiring Drops After May Peak, Reverting Toward Seasonal Norms
June saw a drop in the number of Jobs Added after May’s sharp rise, indicating possible frontloading of summer hiring.
(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%) |
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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