Main Street Health Report
May 2026
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 +1.2% from April to May, matching 2025 and outpacing 2024’s +0.9% gain. Businesses tend to stretch schedules during this time of year.
- 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
+1.2%
Hours worked increased +1.2% from April to May, matching 2025 and outpacing 2024’s +0.9% gain. Businesses tend to stretch schedules during this time of year.
+0.2%
Employees working rose just +0.2% from April to May, trailing 2025’s +0.4%. However, looking past the monthly noise, January-May growth was similar in 2025 and 2026; both years substantially lagged 2024 over the same period.
-2.6%
As is typical for this time of year, businesses open fell in every region. The biggest declines, as is the case every year, the biggest declines were in the Southeast (-2.6%) and Southwest (-2.4%). The Midwest (-0.2%) and Northeast (-0.8%) saw smaller declines, as these regions benefit from mid-spring weather improvement more than their peers.
What the data shows
Each finding below takes one measure of Main Street, participation, hours, wages, hiring and turnover, and compares May 2026 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
Hours Worked Pick Up Despite Flat Headcount
Hours worked increased +1.2% from April to May, matching 2025 and outpacing 2024’s +0.9% gain. Businesses tend to stretch schedules during this time of year.
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Hours Worked”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 2.7% | (1.4%) | 0.7% |
| Feb – Mar | 2.1% | 2.9% | 1.0% |
| Mar – Apr | (0.6%) | 0.6% | 0.4% |
| Apr – May | 2.0% | 1.2% | 1.2% |
Employees Working
Workforce Participation Flattens Into May
Employees working rose just +0.2% from April to May, trailing 2025’s +0.4%. However, looking past the monthly noise, January-May growth was similar in 2025 and 2026; both years substantially lagged 2024 over the same period.
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 2.1% | (1.4%) | 0.0% |
| Feb – Mar | 1.2% | 2.1% | 0.9% |
| Mar – Apr | 0.3% | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| Apr – May | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
Businesses Open, by region
Open Businesses Decline Across All Regions
As is typical for this time of year, businesses open fell in every region. The biggest declines, as is the case every year, the biggest declines were in the Southeast (-2.6%) and Southwest (-2.4%). The Midwest (-0.2%) and Northeast (-0.8%) saw smaller declines, as these regions benefit from mid-spring weather improvement more than their peers.
(Month-over-month change in “Businesses Open”, by Census region)
| Region | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest | +0.6% | 0.0% | −0.2% |
| Northeast | 0.0% | +0.6% | −0.7% |
| Southeast | −2.8% | −2.6% | −2.5% |
| Southwest | −3.2% | −2.2% | −2.3% |
| West | −1.0% | −1.7% | −1.0% |
| Mid-Atlantic | −1.0% | −0.8% | −1.8% |
| Other | −0.4% | −0.8% | −0.5% |
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
Seasonal Leisure Carries Growth as Services Lag
Entertainment (+7.0%) remained the strongest seasonal growth sector, followed by Hospitality (+2.3%) and Home & Repair (+2.2%). Beauty & Wellness (-3.7%), Medical/Veterinary (-2.5%), and Caregiving (-1.0%) continued to contract, keeping the recovery narrow.
(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 2.1% | (1.4%) | 0.0% |
| Feb – Mar | 1.2% | 2.1% | 0.9% |
| Mar – Apr | 0.3% | 1.1% | 0.8% |
| Apr – May | 1.1% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
Entertainment includes events/festivals, sports/recreation, parks, movie theaters, and other categories.
Hourly Wages
Wages Reach New High, but Growth Keeps Slowing
Year-over-year wage growth slowed to +5.9%, below the +7.1% pace last year and +10.6% two years ago. But we see very early hints of wage growth stabilizing.
(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% |
| Point 43 | 37.3% |
| Point 44 | 38.8% |
| Point 45 | 40.1% |
| Point 46 | 40.8% |
| Point 47 | 41.6% |
| Jan'26 | 42.6% |
| Point 49 | 43.5% |
| Point 50 | 43.7% |
| Point 51 | 43.7% |
| May'26 | 44.0% |
Hourly Wages
Wage Growth Remains Uneven Across Service Tiers
Health Care remained the highest-paid category at $20.73/hour, while Professional Services held near $17.98 and has largely flattened since February. However, the fastest wage growth is in food & drink and retail (both just over 5% Y/Y).
(Average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)
| Category | May 2026 |
|---|---|
| Food & Drink | $14.01 |
| Entertainment | $14.91 |
| Retail | $15.71 |
| Health Care | $20.42 |
| Professional Services | $17.78 |
Number of Jobs Added
Hiring Accelerates From a Lower Base
Hiring has started the year at a decent clip. While it remains down 2% Y/Y, we’re cautiously optimistic that stabilization will materialize later this year.
(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Added” across all jobs)
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | 3.1% | 5.0% | 3.8% |
| Feb – Mar | 0.7% | 0.4% | 2.9% |
| Mar – Apr | 7.0% | 5.5% | 4.5% |
| Apr – May | 2.8% | 6.4% | 6.4% |
Number of Jobs Archived
Turnover Rises With Seasonal Staffing Churn
Jobs archived increased +4.0% m/m in May, above 2025’s pace. For the second month in a row, turnover was up Y/Y (+1.6%). Employers are finding it harder to hold onto their workers.
(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Archived” across all jobs)
| Category | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan – Feb | (1.7%) | 0.4% | (3.4%) |
| Feb – Mar | (0.1%) | (3.9%) | (0.3%) |
| Mar – Apr | 9.6% | 2.5% | 7.1% |
| Apr – May | 6.0% | 3.4% | 4.5% |
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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