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# From Big to Small
- URL: https://www.philsimon.com/from-big-to-small/
- Published: 2023-02-08T16:45:43.000Z
- Updated: 2025-07-01T20:36:20.000Z
- Description: There's an interesting shift taking place in the labor market.
- Author: Phil Simon
- Tags: Dataviz, Technology, Trends, Amazon, Facebook/Meta, Microsoft, Salesforce, The Nine, Zoom

Layoffs are all the rage these days. Microsoft, [Zoom](https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/zoom-to-lay-off-1300-employees-or-about-15percent-of-its-workforce.html?ref=philsimon.com), [Amazon](https://www.vox.com/recode/2023/1/19/23562702/amazon-layoffs-andy-jassy-day-2-alexa?ref=philsimon.com), Meta, and Salesforce are just some of the companies that have let go of thousands of employees.

Yet the labor market remains white hot. Unemployment is [3.4 percent](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf?ref=philsimon.com). It's a question that I consider in [*The Nine: The Tectonic Forces Reshaping the Workplace*](https://www.philsimon.com/books/the-nine/)*.*

Why?

Lots of things are at play, but here's a biggie.

Small business growth over the past three years has been phenomenal, but don't believe me. Since February 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics [Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey](https://www.bls.gov/jlt?ref=philsimon.com) reports that firms with fewer than 250 employees have hired 3.67 million *more* people than they’ve lost.

That number starkly contrasts with larger businesses that employ 250 individuals or more. As a whole, the latter group has trimmed 800,000 net jobs during this three-year period.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/2025/05/8-2.jpg)

This trend bodes well for [fractional CFOs](https://www.forbes.com/sites/melissahouston/2021/09/21/is-your-business-ready-for-a-fractional-cfo/?sh=46ea69a9783b&ref=philsimon.com) like [Ken Weil](https://www.consultyourcfo.com/?ref=philsimon.com). Ditto for CIOs and chief legal counsels.

[Phil Simon: Is your organization embracing interactive dataviz tools?New interactive data-visualization tools allow for greater insights and help overcome the IT-business divide.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/icon/cropped-newlogo-151.png)Phil Simon![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8f/b5/8fb5e321-49a6-4cf5-8a28-c6f6d5417e54/content/images/thumbnail/biggest_companies.jpg)](https://www.philsimon.com/blog/data/interactive-data-visualization-tools/)

## Simon Says

Smaller firms are exactly the types that benefit from locking in part-time experts as they confront new challenges.