The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index reported a seasonally adjusted increase of 0.17% in February as the U.S. economy remains strong despite high interest rates. This positive development indicates that hiring woes may be easing for small businesses across the country.

Small businesses often struggle to retain workers due to their inability to offer higher salaries or additional benefits like health insurance. The CBIZ index monitors hiring trends among thousands of companies with 300 or fewer employees nationwide.

According to Anna Rathbun, chief investment officer of CBIZ, the U.S. economy has exhibited unexpected strength in the current high interest rate environment. This has enabled small businesses to steadily expand their workforce during the month of February.

In February, 20% of companies in the index increased their staff, while 60% maintained their current headcounts. Additionally, 20% of companies decreased their staff numbers during the same period.

Certain industries have seen better hiring results than others. Sectors such as administrative and support services, arts, entertainment and recreation, as well as technology and life sciences reported hiring gains, while industries like accommodation and food services, insurance, and utilities experienced decreases.

Regionally, the West, Southeast, and Central regions saw slight increases in hiring, while the Northeast region saw a slight decline in employment growth.

These trends in the small business sector are reflective of the broader market, as U.S. employers added 275,000 jobs in February, surpassing expectations and demonstrating the resilience of the U.S. economy despite high interest rates. February’s job growth marked an improvement from the revised gain of 229,000 jobs in January.