Small Businesses Add 37,100 Jobs: January 2026 Gusto Small Business Jobs Report

Hiring among America’s small businesses posted solid gains in January, adding +37,100 net new jobs for the month – slightly below the 12-month average of 52,400 jobs, but marking continued improvement from the October-November soft patch and a sharp year-over-year gain from January 2025’s -12,100 net job loss.In this episode, we break down the latest Gusto Small Business Jobs Report for January 2026.