June 6 Reuters Like many firms during the pandemic Worxbee, a small business that provides virtual executive assistant services, brought on bodies when Chief Executive Kenzie Biggins thought she found a good match.

Peaking at 11 people, the hiring in the end proved an overreach, and Biggins39; staffing is now down to six, mostly through attrition. She39;s intent on using technology and smarter management to keep it there.

We39;re not looking at hiring, said Biggins, whose firm in Greenville, South Carolina, matches executive assistants with executives who need them.

We39;re looking at how we build more efficiencies to actually reduce our costs…Prices went wild during the pandemic. Once we increase all these salaries we can39;t reverse out of that, she said. I think people are having to make some tough decisions about how they get more efficient with what they have.

If the pandemic years are remembered for labor shortages and the Great Resignation, the prudence now shown by Biggins and others helming U.S. small businesses may point to a great rationalization taking shape.

Her cautious approach may also be starting to surface in broader statistics, reinforcing what Federal Reserve officials feel is a gradual softening of the job market.

While that may be a plus for their efforts to bring inflation to heel, it could pose an additional drag on public perceptions of President Joe Biden39;s economic management heading towards the November election if weaker payroll…