Year-End Bonuses Rise as Small Businesses Close 2025 on Strong Footing

To close out 2025, many small businesses did something they hadn’t been able to do as confidently in recent years: share their success with employees. New data from Gusto shows that year-end bonuses rose sharply in both size and reach, with average bonuses jumping more than 11 percent and a growing share of workers receiving a payout. These gains were broad-based across industries, from tourism and entertainment to professional services and tech, pointing to underlying strength in the small-business economy even as uncertainty lingered. In this episode, we’ll break down what’s behind the surge in bonuses—and what it tells us about how small businesses are entering 2026.