Main Street Health Report

Name: Main Street Health Report, September 2025
Creator: Homebase
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

September 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.

Employee activity fell –3.6%, similar to past late-summer slowdowns, as schools reopen.

Download the PDF Email the data team See every monthly report

Hourly employees: 2M+
Small businesses: 100K+
Measured, not surveyed: Timesheet data

The owners of Antique Taco standing outside their restaurant

Main Street at a glance

The top things to know this month

3.6%
Employee activity fell –3.6%, similar to past late-summer slowdowns, as schools reopen.
4.7%
“Hours Worked” declined –4.7%, nearly identical to September 2023 and extending August’s cooling.
Homebase data, by region
Slower Business activity in these regions drove sharper drops in “Employees Working” and “Hours Worked” compared to other regions.

What the data shows

Each finding below takes one measure of Main Street, participation, hours, wages, hiring and turnover, and compares September 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

Workforce Participation Slips With Seasonal Pullback

Employee activity fell –3.6%, similar to past late-summer slowdowns, as schools reopen.

(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)

Grouped column chart of the month-over-month change in employees working, one group per month and one column per year (2023, 2024 and 2025). Most recent month: 2025 down 3.5%.
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%)
Aug – Sep	(3.8%)	(3.1%)	(3.5%)

Hours Worked

Drop in Employee Activity Mirrors 2023 Seasonal Decline

“Hours Worked” declined –4.7%, nearly identical to September 2023 and extending August’s cooling.

(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Hours Worked”, relative to January of respective year)

Grouped column chart of the month-over-month change in hours worked, one group per month and one column per year (2023, 2024 and 2025). Most recent month: 2025 down 4.6%.
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%)
Aug – Sep	(4.8%)	(4.0%)	(4.6%)

Homebase data, by region

Northeast and Midwest Lead Regional Weakness

Slower Business activity in these regions drove sharper drops in “Employees Working” and “Hours Worked” compared to other regions.

(Month-over-month change in core economic indicators, by Census region)

Map of month-over-month change by Census region, with the figures for 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 2025: Mid-Atlantic down 2.1%, Midwest down 2.2%, Northeast down 3.0%, Other down 1.8%, Southeast down 1.5%, Southwest down 0.9%, West down 1.3%.
Region	2023	2024	2025
Midwest	no data	−2.0%	−2.2%
Northeast	no data	−2.2%	−3.0%
Southeast	no data	−1.7%	−1.5%
Southwest	no data	−2.5%	−0.9%
West	no data	−1.5%	−1.3%
Mid-Atlantic	no data	−1.6%	−2.1%
Other	no data	+0.5%	−1.8%

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 Sectors See Expected September Drop

Entertainment and Hospitality led declines,-21.4% and -10.7% respectively, in line with seasonal back-to-school shifts. Meanwhile Medical/Veterinary industry showed slight uptick

(Monthly change in 7-day average of “Employees Working”, relative to January of respective year)

Grouped column chart of the month-over-month change in employees working, one group per month and one column per year (2023, 2024 and 2025). Most recent month: 2025 down 3.5%.
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%)
Aug – Sep	(3.8%)	(3.1%)	(3.5%)

Entertainment includes events/festivals, sports/recreation, parks, movie theaters, and other categories.

Hourly Wages

Wage Growth Stays Consistent With Past Years

Year-over-year growth remain steady, with costs up nearly 40% since Jan 2022.

(Percent change in average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs, relative to January 2022)

Line chart of average hourly wages against January 2022, monthly. It reaches 38.8% above the January 2022 level by September 2025.
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%
Sep'25	38.8%

Hourly Wages

All Sectors Posted Wage Gains This Month

Industry wages rose across the board in September, consistent with prior years.

(Average “Hourly Wages” across all jobs)

Column chart of the average hourly wage by sector in September 2025: Food & Drink $13.61, Entertainment $14.49, Retail $15.19, Health Care $19.92, Professional Services $17.56.
Category	September 2025
Food & Drink	$13.61
Entertainment	$14.49
Retail	$15.19
Health Care	$19.92
Professional Services	$17.56

Number of Jobs Added

Hiring Steadies After August Surge, Follows Seasonal Norms

Job additions eased in September, extending the late-summer pullback seen in prior years

(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Added” across all jobs)

Grouped column chart of the month-over-month change in jobs added per location, one group per month and one column per year (2023, 2024 and 2025). Most recent month: 2025 down 3.7%.
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%
Aug – Sep	1.1%	0.1%	(3.7%)

Number of Jobs Archived

Turnover Elevated as Business Optimism Lags 2024

Turnover declined month-on-month (-4%), yet, compared to average monthly turnover in H1, employee exits remain high in 2025 (10%), echoing 2023 levels (15%), while 2024’s stronger business sentiment kept turnover flat (1%).

(Monthly change in average “Number of Jobs Archived” across all jobs)

Grouped column chart of the month-over-month change in jobs archived per location, one group per month and one column per year (2023, 2024 and 2025). Most recent month: 2025 down 1.9%.
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%
Aug – Sep	(3.9%)	1.7%	(1.9%)

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+

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.

Read this month Every data story

Top-rated app built for small business teams.