Small businesses created 25,000 new jobs in May, based on the latest figures from Intuit’s Online Payroll customers, which also indicate 240,000 new jobs created since October 2009.

Dr. Susan Woodward

Intuit found that compensation grew by 0.3 percent in May and now averages of $2,566 per month, compared to $2,559 per month in April. Monthly hours worked decreased by 0.1 percent in May to 101.6 hours, compared to 101.7 hours in April.

“While the May growth in employment is not as strong as last month, it’s still going up,” said economist Dr. Susan Woodward of Sand Hill Econometrics, who works with Intuit to create the monthly Small Business Employment Index. “Despite the slower growth rate and slight decline in hours worked, the recovery is still unambiguous in the Intuit data: Employment and compensation per worker continue to show that a recovery is underway. The new hire rate continues to rise slightly, as does the hourly rate of pay.”