Small Business Hiring & Labor Market - Paycheck data indicates moderation in small business hiring and slowing hourly earnings growth [1] - Small businesses with less than 50 employees show amazing stability, with less than 1 percentage point change over the last 12 months [3] - The small business segment (under 50 employees) is facing a labor supply issue, with constrictions on immigration and challenges in finding qualified workers [6][7] - Weekly hours worked reached a near decade high, indicating employers are reluctant to hire new staff [5][6] - Over the last two months, there has been an increase of over 3% consecutively in hours worked, a trend not seen in a decade [8] - Increased hours worked at this level typically precede employment increases in subsequent quarters [9] Wage Inflation & Economic Impact - Hourly wage growth is below 3% for the 15th consecutive month, indicating wages are below the pace of annualized inflation [10] - Keeping labor costs below 3% is expected to contribute to moving inflation down towards the Federal Reserve's target of 2% [12]