Main Street Health Report
March 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.
Approaches After 3.0% a slow start, “Employees Working” grew stronger than prior two 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
3.0%
Approaches After 3.0% a slow start, “Employees Working” grew stronger than prior two years
Hours Worked
“Hours Worked” shows significant improvement compared to last two years
Homebase data, by region
Employee activity remained strong everywhere, while South slightly struggled in business growth
What the data shows
Each finding below takes one measure of Main Street, participation, hours, wages, hiring and turnover, and compares March 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
More Employees Join Workforce as Summer Approaches
After a slow start, “Employees Working” grew stronger than prior two years
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective years)
| Category | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 1.4% | 2.1% | (1.4%) |
| Feb – Mar | 0.1% | 1.2% | 2.1% |
Hours Worked
Employee Activity Hits Three-Year High in March
“Hours Worked” shows significant improvement compared to last two 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% |
Homebase data, by region
Midwest and Northeast See Higher Business Activity
Employee activity remained strong everywhere, while South slightly struggled in business growth
(Month-over-month change in core economic indicators, by Census region)
| Region | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | no data | +0.7% | +1.6% |
| Northeast | no data | +3.2% | +2.4% |
| Southeast | no data | −0.8% | −1.1% |
| Southwest | no data | −0.6% | −1.4% |
| West | no data | −1.4% | −0.5% |
| Mid-Atlantic | no data | +0.8% | +5.1% |
| Other | no data | −0.8% | −0.3% |
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,
Hourly Wages
Monthly Wage Growth Remained Stable
Monthly fluctuations normalize across major industries in March
(Monthly change in average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)
| Category | March 2025 |
|---|---|
| Food & Drink | $13.33 |
| Entertainment | $14.26 |
| Retail | $14.92 |
| Health Care | $19.23 |
| Professional Services | $17.37 |
Hourly Wages
Wages Remained Flat Across The Board, Except in Retail
Retail experienced seasonal adjustment while other sectors show steady wages
(Average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)
| Category | March 2025 |
|---|---|
| Food & Drink | $13.33 |
| Entertainment | $14.26 |
| Retail | $14.92 |
| Health Care | $19.23 |
| Professional Services | $17.37 |
Hourly Wages
Labor Cost Up Nearly 40%, Growth Pace Stabilizing
Growth in cost followed seasonal pattern seen in the last 3 years
(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% |
| Mar'25 | 35.8% |
Number of Jobs Added
Team Rosters Grow, Adjusting To Seasonal Demand
Month-to-month fluctuations follow established annual cycles from prior years
(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% |
Number of Jobs Archived
Retention Remains Strong as Summer Approaches
Fewer employees leaving teams as seasonal demand picks up, keeping roster size steady
(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%) |
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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