SAN FRANCISCO, March 5, 2026, 15:34 PST
Small businesses in the U.S. shed 45,300 jobs in February, according to Intuit Inc’s (INTU.O) QuickBooks Small Business Index, released Wednesday. The data show employment declined 0.36% to 12,626,500 workers. Leisure and hospitality posted the largest loss, down 11,300 jobs. Average monthly “real” revenue per business slipped by 1.03% to $53,580, with utilities tumbling 5.88%. QuickBooks
Markets are watching for new signals on the pace of hiring just ahead of the government’s February jobs report. The Bureau of Labor Statistics plans to publish the data March 6 at 8:30 a.m. ET.
QuickBooks touts its index as an up-to-the-minute look at the tiniest businesses — those with one to nine employees — refreshed monthly with fresh numbers. The company says it pulls data from a pool of over 533,000 firms on its platform and reworks the figures with official stats prior to release.
Other jobs data tells a different story. Weekly initial jobless claims held steady at 213,000. “The picture of the labor market gleaned from the claims data and other related statistics is not one of deterioration,” said Oxford Economics economist Nancy Vanden Houten. Reuters
“Real revenue” here refers to revenue adjusted for inflation, with all figures put in 2017 dollars. Both revenue and employment numbers get a seasonal adjustment, aimed at evening out typical calendar effects. According to QuickBooks’ methodology, the index pulls from official sources, not just the company’s own clients, to widen its relevance. QuickBooks
This week’s private data has painted a mixed picture. Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin pointed to Vanguard’s payrolls and ADP’s jobs numbers as evidence that hiring hasn’t faltered, though he was quick to warn that inflation is still running hot.
The QuickBooks series runs off a model, updating whenever new government data comes in. According to QuickBooks, the sample size isn’t fixed — it shifts based on how many businesses are using QuickBooks Payroll at a given time. The company also points out the index doesn’t represent its customer base directly; instead, the figures are anonymized, aggregated, and tweaked to track wider market moves.
Mountain View, California’s Intuit is behind TurboTax, QuickBooks, Credit Karma, and Mailchimp. The company breaks out its results by small-business and consumer segments.
QuickBooks produces the Small Business Index alongside a group of economists headed by University of Chicago’s Ufuk Akcigit, with updates released each month.
