Selected findings from US employer and market data. Coverage differs by measure, so each chart carries its own definition.
Where are employer businesses concentrated?
Territory planning
Businesses with a recorded size of 10 to 249
- New York-Newark-Jersey City66,477
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim48,130
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin32,723
- Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach28,073
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington27,928
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands25,536
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria23,673
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont20,856
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton20,800
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington20,747
New York-Newark-Jersey City leads with 66,477 businesses, and the ten largest metro areas hold 29% of the 1,086,307 businesses in this population.
About these figures
- Population
- Businesses with a recorded size of 10 to 249 in the 50 states and DC, 1,086,307 in total. The ten metro areas with the most businesses are shown.
- Coverage
- Recorded size may represent employees, plan participants or an individual worksite, and many businesses have no recorded size. Businesses outside a metro area are not shown.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026.
When were these businesses registered?
Business-age segmentation
Active businesses with a recorded registration date
2025 is the largest registration year among active businesses with a recorded date, at 868,703; the counts show businesses active today, not registrations filed each year. The hatched bar is the current year to date.
About these figures
- Population
- Active businesses with a recorded registration date: 6,673,534, or 32% of the database. Business applications, registrations and operating employers are different populations, and this chart shows only the last.
- Coverage
- Registration dates exist for a limited set of states, and the two largest account for 94% of the dated businesses. Earlier years are smaller partly because more of those businesses have closed.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026. The current year is partial.
How has the number of employers with plans changed?
Market sizing
Employers with a recorded plan, by plan year
Health plans
Retirement plans
20122016202020242025
Employers with a recorded health plan rose from 49,863 in 2012 to 87,711 in 2024, and employers with a recorded retirement plan from 649,743 to 835,396. Hatched bars are plan years still filling in.
About these figures
- Population
- Distinct employers with at least one recorded health plan, and separately with at least one recorded retirement plan, in each plan year. An employer with both appears in both charts, and each chart has its own scale.
- Coverage
- Health plans with fewer than 100 participants are mostly not recorded, so the health series understates smaller employers.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026. Plan year 2025 is incomplete because records are still arriving.
How are recorded health plans funded?
Offer positioning
Share of recorded health plans, by plan year
- Self-funded
- Insured
- Insurance and own assets
- Not reported
Among recorded health plans that report a funding method, self-funded plans were 9% in 2024, down from 19% in 2012, while 30% of 2024 plans report no method at all.
About these figures
- Population
- Recorded health plans in each plan year. These are plans, not employers, and an employer can have more than one.
- Coverage
- A growing share of plans report no funding method. They are shown as not reported and are not assigned to a category.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026. Plan year 2025 is incomplete.
Which industries are adding jobs?
Sector prioritization
Market-wide employment change, 2025 versus 2024
- Health care and social assistance+780K
- Construction+116K
- Arts, entertainment, recreation+62K
- Transportation and warehousing+56K
- Education services+42K
- Information-54K
- Wholesale trade-69K
- Retail trade-88K
- Administrative and support-92K
- Manufacturing-153K
In 2025 versus 2024, health care and social assistance added the most jobs, about 780 thousand, and manufacturing lost the most, about 153 thousand.
About these figures
- Population
- Private-sector employment across the United States, by industry sector. This is a market-wide measure, not a measure of the businesses in the research database, and an industry adding jobs does not mean any one business is hiring.
- Period
- Annual average employment, 2025 versus 2024. The five largest gains and five largest declines among the industry sectors are shown.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026.
When do businesses’ recorded workers’ comp policies end?
Outreach timing
Businesses with a recorded policy end date, by month
1.4K2.5K2.7K5.4K3.0K3.4K3.8K3.1K3.5K3.9K2.8K2.5K
OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep
37,998 businesses have a recorded workers’ comp policy end date in the next twelve months, and January 2027 is the busiest month, with 5,443 businesses. The hatched bar is the current month from the snapshot date.
About these figures
- Population
- Businesses with a recorded workers’ compensation policy end date: 40,227 in all, and 37,998 with an end date in the next twelve months. Each business is counted once, by its recorded end date. An end date does not establish an intention to switch.
- Coverage
- Policy end dates are recorded for a small number of states, and the two largest account for 94% of the records. This is not a national picture.
- Snapshot
- October 11, 2026.