Current Hiring BLS Data Breakdown: Job Growth and Turnover by Company Size

2025 Hiring Trends: Job Growth and Turnover by Company Size

Who’s Hiring in Q1 of 2025?

This information is a summary based on the latest BLS report from February 2025.

Looking at total hires, job openings, and the hiring rate relative to openings, here’s the breakdown:

Who’s Adding the Most Jobs (Raw Hires)?

Small businesses (1–49 employees) dominate hiring in total numbers.
- 1 to 9 employees: 839K hires (biggest increase, +144K).
- 10 to 49 employees: 1.58M hires, but a drop of 202K.
Mid-sized businesses (50–999 employees) are stable.
- 50 to 249 employees: 1.61M hires (+87K).
- 250 to 999 employees: 647K hires (flat).
Large corporations (1,000+ employees) are hiring the least.
- 1,000 to 4,999 employees: 255K hires, down 10K.
- 5,000+ employees: 76K hires, down slightly.

Who’s Hiring the Most Relative to the Job Openings They Post?

Smallest businesses (1 to 9 employees) are hiring aggressively.
- 3.8% hire rate vs. 5.2% job opening rate (+0.7% jump).
- This means small businesses are filling a good chunk of their openings.
Medium-sized companies (50–249) are steady.
- Hire rate at 4.1% vs. 4.9% job opening rate (+0.1%).
- They’re keeping up with demand but not accelerating hiring.
Biggest businesses (5,000+ employees) are slow to hire.
- 1.6% hire rate vs. 4.1% job opening rate.
- They have open roles but aren’t filling them quickly.

Key Takeaways

✅ Small businesses (especially 1–9 employees) are hiring aggressively and making up for previous losses.

✅ Medium-sized firms (50–249 employees) are hiring steadily but cautiously.

🚫 Big companies (5,000+ employees) are sitting on job openings rather than actively hiring.

⚠️ Mid-sized businesses (10–49 employees) saw the biggest hiring drop.

Who’s Hiring Today?

Smallest businesses (1–9 employees) are the most active in hiring relative to their size.
Large corporations are not moving quickly to fill roles, despite openings.
Mid-sized businesses (50–249 employees) are maintaining stability.

Who’s Losing the Most Employees? (Turnover Analysis)

Looking at total separations (employees leaving due to quits, layoffs, or other reasons), we can see which company sizes are struggling the most with retention.

Who Had the Most Total Separations?

Small businesses (1–49 employees) saw the most turnover.
- 1 to 9 employees: 839K hires, but also high turnover.
- 10 to 49 employees: 1.58M hires, but hiring dropped by 202K.
Medium-sized businesses (50–999 employees) were steady.
- 50 to 249 employees: 1.61M hires, 4.1% hire rate (stable).
- 250 to 999 employees: 647K hires, 3.6% hire rate (also stable).
Biggest companies (1,000+ employees) had the lowest hiring and turnover.
- 1,000 to 4,999 employees: 255K hires, declining trend.
- 5,000+ employees: 76K hires, almost no change.

Who’s Losing Employees the Fastest? (Turnover Rate vs. Hiring Rate)

Smallest businesses (1–9 employees) have the most volatility.
- High hire rate (3.8%) but also likely high separation rate.
- This suggests constant churn—they hire fast but lose people fast.
Mid-sized businesses (50–249 employees) are the most stable.
- Hire rate (4.1%) matches closely with openings (4.9%).
- They seem to retain workers better than smaller firms.
Big companies (5,000+ employees) have low hiring and low turnover.
- Hire rate (1.6%) is far below job openings (4.1%).
- They’re struggling to fill roles, but also aren’t losing many employees.

Key Insights on Turnover:

✅ Smallest businesses (1–9 employees) have high churn. They hire aggressively but also lose employees quickly.

✅ Mid-sized companies (50–249 employees) have the best balance. They’re hiring steadily and seem to retain talent.

🚫 Large corporations (5,000+ employees) are stagnant. They have open roles but aren’t hiring or losing many employees.

⚠️ 10–49 employee companies saw the biggest hiring drop. This may indicate layoffs or slowed hiring due to uncertainty.

Big Picture:

Small businesses drive job creation but also have high turnover.
Mid-sized firms offer the best mix of hiring and retention.
Large corporations aren’t aggressively hiring but also aren’t losing employees.

Article Sources

February 2025 Employment Reports, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Job Creation Data

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2024, March 11). Small businesses contributed 55 percent of the total net job creation from 2013 to 2023. U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2024/small-businesses-contributed-55-percent-of-the-total-net-job-creation-from-2013-to-2023.htm

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2025, March 11). Employment situation summary – February 2025. U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm