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Job growth at Houston’s small businesses continues to lead that of the largest cities in the U.S., according to the latest data from Paychex and IHS Markit.
According to the latest Paychex Small Business Employment Watch, Houston job growth in March continued to rise, pushing its index to 103.10, compared with a national index of 99.73. It was the fifth consecutive month that Houston topped this index, considered an industry benchmark.
The average hourly wage in Houston also has grown, by 4.87 percent to $30.76, over the past twelve months, according to Paychex, ranking seventh on that list. Among the nation’s 20 largest metro areas, Miami’s wage growth has been strongest since March 2022, with an increase of 5.8 percent.
Related: Houston is hiring: Job creation, wages grew at year-end
Paychex, a Rochester, N.Y., payroll services company for small- and medium-size businesses in the U.S. and Europe, works with London-based analytics company IHS Markit to produce the monthly report, based on data from 350,000 clients with fewer than 50 employees.
The latest report reinforces the impression that the Houston region is well-positioned to weather this year even if the national economy tips into recession, as many experts predict.
In a statement, Paychex CEO John Gibson commended the resiliency of America’s small- and medium-size business since the year began, but he cautioned against complacency in the wake of the March collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.
“This is an encouraging start to the year,” Gibson said, “and policymakers are going to need to carefully consider their next actions as the full impact of the recent banking disruptions on SMB’s access to capital is still not fully understood.”
The nation’s overall employment data, including the U.S. unemployment rate, will be released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The most recent report, released about a month ago, put the nation’s jobless rate at 3.6 percent.
erica.grieder@houstonchronicle.com
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