Small Shops vs. Big Companies: Who's Hiring and Who's Losing Workers (Oct. 27, 2026)
Most job market headlines lump every employer together. But a 12-person machine shop and a 6,000-person distribution network face very different hiring problems. The Bureau of Labor Statistics breaks its monthly job openings survey, called JOLTS, down by the size of the workplace, and the latest numbers, for August, show a real split. Here's a plain-language look, as of October 27, 2026, at what's happening by company size and what it means for you.
The big picture
In its August JOLTS report (opens in a new tab), released September 29, BLS counted 7.1 million job openings across the economy, with 5.2 million hires and 3.1 million people quitting. Layoffs and discharges stayed low at 1.6 million. In other words, employers aren't cutting much, but they aren't hiring much either.
The numbers by company size
These figures cover private employers only and are counted by individual workplace (BLS calls it an establishment), from the survey's table 7 (opens in a new tab). Rates are a share of each group's workforce.
| Workplace size | Openings rate | Hires rate | Quits in Aug. | Quits rate (July to Aug.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 9 employees | 4.3% | 3.0% | 420,000 | 1.4% to 1.8% |
| 10 to 49 employees | 4.4% | 3.9% | 1,080,000 | 2.2% to 2.5% |
| 50 to 249 employees | 4.3% | 4.0% | 888,000 | 2.7% to 2.3% |
| 250 to 999 employees | 4.4% | 3.4% | 343,000 | 2.1% to 1.9% |
| 1,000 to 4,999 employees | 5.7% | 3.0% | 122,000 | 1.7% to 1.5% |
| 5,000 or more employees | 5.2% | 1.9% | 42,000 | 0.9% to 0.9% |
| All private employers | 4.5% | 3.6% | 2,895,000 | 2.1% to 2.1% |
Small businesses are losing more people
Workplaces with 10 to 49 employees had the highest quit rate of any size group in August. About 1.08 million of their workers quit, up from 913,000 in July. At the very smallest businesses, those with fewer than 10 people, quits rose from 308,000 to 420,000. At the same time, job openings at those smallest businesses dropped from 1.39 million to 1.05 million, a fall of about a quarter in one month. Small owners may be posting fewer jobs, but they're still having to replace people who leave.
Big companies have openings they aren't filling
The largest employers tell the opposite story. Workplaces with 1,000 to 4,999 employees had the highest openings rate of any group at 5.7 percent, but hired at a rate of just 3.0 percent. At sites with 5,000 or more workers, openings reached 243,000, up from 170,000 a year earlier, while the hires rate was only 1.9 percent. Their workers rarely quit, but those open positions are sitting unfilled longer.
What this means for employers
- If you're a smaller business, plan for turnover. When people quit at a higher rate, every open seat costs you time and overtime. Having a staffing partner ready to send a screened replacement keeps the line running while you hire. Our post on the real cost of a bad hire shows how fast those costs add up.
- You're competing with big companies' open jobs. Large employers have plenty of openings. A clear job description, a fair wage and a fast offer help a smaller company win the same workers.
- If you're a larger employer, speed up the process. A wide gap between openings and hires usually means long hiring steps. Temporary or temp-to-hire workers can cover those open spots now while you fill them for good.
- Low layoffs keep the talent pool small. New jobless claims came in at just 194,000 for the week ending October 17, according to the Labor Department (opens in a new tab), so few experienced workers are out looking.
Coming up: September jobless rates for metro areas, including Monroe and Detroit, on October 28, new weekly jobless claims on Thursday, October 29, September JOLTS job openings on November 3, and the October jobs report on November 6.
Whatever your size, we can help
Aggressive Hiring Group is a woman-owned, family-run staffing agency in Monroe, MI, placing workers for employers nationwide for 12 years. Whether you run a small shop or a large plant, we keep a network of pre-screened industrial, warehouse, logistics, office and technical candidates ready to go, and every one goes through our screening process, including background and reference checks and 10-panel drug screening. Call us at 734.785.8968, Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, or request staff online.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, August 2026 (released Sept. 29, 2026), including table 7, seasonally adjusted, private sector, August figures preliminary; U.S. Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims (released Oct. 22, 2026). Figures are subject to revision.