An affordable and secure retirement is part of the dream of many U.S. workers. However, nearly 56 million U.S. workers lack access to an employer-sponsored savings plan.

To expand access, Congress created the Small Employer Pension Program -- a federal tax credit that helps small businesses start a retirement plan. But uptake has been low.

What happens when we show personalized tax credit savings estimates to small business owners? Answer: It has a huge impact on uptake of the tax credit.

This episode walks through a study from Gusto Insights showing that the simple act of nudging small businesses led to $31 million of savings for U.S. small business owners.

Small businesses in America today face a paradox. On paper, the economy looks strong: GDP is growing at nearly 4%, consumer spending is healthy, and inflation is moderating. Yet business owners are seeing something different on the ground – weakening demand, falling consumer confidence, and a labor market that has cooled dramatically from its red-hot pace of recent years.

Are small businesses hiring AI-focused roles today? Most discussion of AI and hiring focuses on large, enterprise-scale companies. However, we found a small but growing share of small businesses on Gusto are hiring for AI roles – and that the pace has accelerated rapidly in the past two years.

In this analysis, we look at the share of employees on small business payrolls with “AI” job titles. And we examine how AI hiring has shifted since 2019, and which industries and cities in America are leading the pack on AI hiring among small businesses.

View the full analysis here.

In this episode of "The Insights Brief" from Gusto, we summarize the key takeaways from our recent research, "Beyond the Books: How Accountants Can Help Small Businesses Thrive." Download the full study at: https://gusto.com/resources/gusto-insights/beyond-the-books