Market Update: Where small businesses stand on hiring in this economy – Full Analysis

The March jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes out Friday. In case you missed it, February was unexpectedly dismal — with a loss of 92,000 jobs, and unemployment edging up to 4.4%.

Meanwhile, with downward revisions to previous months, it turns out that over the past year the number of jobs added to the U.S. economy has been almost negligible: About 156,000, versus just over 1 million jobs added in the year prior.

One slice of the jobs picture that popped out last month was small-business hiring. That’s because private payroll processor ADP actually reported a substantial uptick in job creation by businesses with fewer than 50 employees in February.

For a while now, we’ve been hearing that employers are hesitant to add workers and also hesitant to lay off the ones they’ve already got.

“We’re hiring right now because we’re replacing people. But no — we’re not looking to increase employment,” said Adam Orman in Austin, Texas. He’s got two Italian restaurants —one casual, one more upscale — and his headcount now is about 50 employees.

“It has shrunk a little bit for a number of reasons,” he said.

Inflation-weary consumers dining out and drinking less. Plus, he said, it continues to be very difficult to hire.

“A lot of people left the restaurant workforce during the pandemic. And then over the last year and a half, we’ve seen a lot of immigrants leave the workforce — either by choice or because they’ve been detained or deported,” Orman said.

Matt Hassett is CEO of New-York-based Loftie, which sells alarm clocks, lamps and other products designed to promote better sleep. He’s got seven employees.

“It’s stable. We’ve had a few people leave, and I’m not hiring to fill those positions. 2025 was a very tough year. The tariffs made it very hard to predict what our costs were going to be,” he said.

Hassett now has two employees in Europe, and he’s expanding international sales.

Barton O’Brien is founder of BAYDOG, an 8-year-old business based in Annapolis, Maryland, that makes gear like dog harnesses and life jackets, as well as treats and toys.

O’Brien is hearing from pet store owners that consumers are now pulling back on the doggie discretionaries.

“The consumer walks in, they get that bag of food, and those secondary purchases just aren’t happening, because nobody has any extra cash,” he said.

O’Brien said his costs are way up but profits are down. Still, he’s optimistic: “I think I’m going to be able to continue to grow the company. I just hired two people in Q4,” he said.

Bringing his total head count to seven, with another 45 working as contractors in production, sales and e-commerce.