CBIZ found a decline in small business employment in September among its payroll clients, following an increase in August.

The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, a barometer for hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees, decreased by 2.55 percent during September, following an increase of 1.15 percent in August. This marks the third largest statistical decline for the index.

In contrast, ADP's September jobs survey, based on ADP’s payroll clients, found that the private sector added 162,000 jobs, surpassing analysts' expectations, but falling short of August's revised tally of 189,000 added jobs (see ADP Finds Private Sector Added 162,000 Jobs). ADP reported that small businesses with less than 50 employees added 81,000 jobs, while midsize businesses with between 50 and 499 employees added 64,000 jobs, and large businesses with 500 employees or more added 17,000 jobs.

Intuit reported that small businesses with less than 20 employees added 40,000 jobs in September, based on Intuit Online Payroll clients (see Intuit Says Small Businesses Added 40,000 Jobs in September). SurePayroll reported that month-over-month hiring declined 0.2 percent in September among its small business payroll clients (see SurePayroll Sees Small Biz Hiring Fall in September). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employers added 114,000 jobs in September, including 104,000 in the private sector (see Unemployment Rate Drops to 7.8% as Employers Add 114,000 Jobs).

"The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index shows a dramatic drop in employment in businesses with less than 300 employees for September,” said CBIZ Payroll Services business unit president Philip Noftsinger in a statement. “Part of the reason is the traditional end of summer and the start of the back-to-school season; however, this drop registers higher than previous September shifts we've tracked.”

CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than 3,000 businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries and geographies corresponding to the markets across the United States where CBIZ provides human capital services. CBIZ said the data represented by the SBEI is derived from a segment of employers not completely accounted for by the ADP and federal BLS employment reports.