Chase to hire more than 500 small business bankers over 2 years

Chase, the consumer and commercial banking arm of JPMorgan, announced Wednesday it plans to hire upward of 500 bankers to service small businesses over the next few years to help customers navigate ongoing economic uncertainty.

The company said its new hiring commitment will boost its business banking workforce by 20% and will focus on building small business relationships through broader access to credit, advice and education.

"Small business owners are facing difficult challenges with persistent inflation, supply chain disruptions and expense pressure," Ben Walter, CEO of business banking at Chase, said in a statement. "We know that banks play a critical role in the long-term success of small businesses and their communities. This investment in our workforce is a testament to our commitment to our clients and our intent to support them through the business cycle."

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Chase's announcement comes on the heels of JPMorgan's 2023 annual Business Leaders Outlook survey released last month showing nearly two-thirds of small and midsize U.S. businesses expect the country will enter a recession in the year ahead, citing inflation as their top concern.

The bank's hiring expansion also comes as other firms are cutting payrolls amid market volatility and concerns of a brewing "white-collar recession."

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Wall Street titans Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have laid off thousands of workers over the past few months, along with other high-profile corporate cuts by tech firms like Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft.

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Despite growing layoffs, however, the U.S. showed strong job growth in January, adding 517,000 jobs in the best month for job creation since July.