Small Business Employment Index Shows Increase in Employment
Intuit's Small Business Employment Index reports 50,000 new jobs were created in January by small businesses, an increase of 0.2 percent. The monthly Index also showed average compensation was down 0.01 percent, or $3, and monthly hours decreased by 0.05 percent, or 6 minutes.
Jan. 30, 2012
A new report released by Intuit shows that 50,000 new jobs were created in January by small businesses, an increase of 0.2 percent.
This month’s Small Business Employment Index, covering the period between December 24, 2011 and January 23, 2012, also reported that average compensation was down 0.01 percent, or $3, and monthly hours decreased by 0.05 percent, or 6 minutes. Hourly employees worked an average of 107.5 hours in January, slightly down from 107.6 hours in December. Monthly pay decreased to $2,632 in January, from $2,635 in December. This is equivalent to approximately $31,600 annually, or part-time work for many small business employees.
“Overall the small business labor market is not weak, but not strong either,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the Index. “Small business employment continues to rise but at a rate that will not get us back to full employment very quickly. Overall, non-salaried employees saw their hours and compensation decrease slightly, but so did the price level. When adjusted for inflation, compensation is about flat. The percentage of non-salaried people working full time is also down slightly, a trend that began in March 2011.”
According to the Index, employment growth occurred in all census divisions, except for New England. Likewise, growth was recorded in most states that the Index tracks, except for New York and Maryland.
“The geographical pattern of labor market indicators shows more weakness in employment on the East Coast, especially the New York region where there are more financial service businesses,” said Woodward. “This suggests that the continuing uncertainty regarding the Euro and the debts of the European sovereign nations are a force in economic activity here. We hear this on the news, and we can see it in the small business figures.”
|
U.S. Census Division |
Percent Change in Employment |
|
East North Central |
0.03% |
|
West North Central |
0.16% |
|
Middle Atlantic |
0.02% |
|
Mountain |
0.6% |
|
New England |
-0.01% |
|
Pacific |
0.4% |
|
South Atlantic |
0.2% |
|
East South Central |
0.3% |
|
West South Central |
0.5% |
Small Business Employment by U.S. Census Division continues to grow in most parts of the country. The data reflects employment from approximately 70,000 small business employers who use Intuit Online Payroll. The month-to-month changes are seasonally-adjusted and informative about the overall economy.
|
State |
Percent Change in Employment |
|
Arizona |
0.7% |
|
California |
0.4% |
|
Florida |
0.4% |
|
Georgia |
0.3% |
|
Illinois |
0.02% |
|
Maryland |
-0.09% |
|
Massachusetts |
0.02% |
|
New Jersey |
0.2% |
|
New York |
-0.2% |
|
North Carolina |
0.16% |
|
Oregon |
0.05% |
|
Pennsylvania |
0.03% |
|
Texas |
0.4% |
|
Virginia |
0.3% |
|
Washington |
0.7% |
Small Business Employment by State is up for most states in which Intuit Online Payroll has more than 1,000 small business firms represented. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative about the overall economy.
Intuit’s Index uses figures from nearly 70,000 small businesses that use Intuit Online Payroll, each with fewer than 20 employees. Based on January’s data and revised numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Intuit modified the previously reported data from December, resulting in a growth rate of 0.3 percent. This means that 60,000 jobs were created in December, up from 55,000, which was previously reported.