Compensation and revenue at small businesses increased this summer, along with the number of hours worked, Intuit reported Tuesday, although employment fell last month.
U.S. small business employment fell by 5,000 jobs in August, a decline of 0.02 percent for the month, according to Intuit. Meanwhile, hourly employees worked an average of 110.1 hours in August, an increase of 20 minutes from July’s revised figure.
“July’s figure was revised up by 2,000 jobs,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to produce its monthly employment and revenue indexes. “The level of small business employment is 20.7 million jobs, so the August decline doesn’t indicate a clear or major sign of softness in the labor force.”
Small business employees’ monthly pay increased by 0.30 percent, the equivalent of $8, with average monthly compensation reaching $2,838. Compensation was $44 per month higher than a year ago. The findings come from the monthly Intuit Small Business Employment Index and are based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online, covering the period from July 24 to Aug. 24.
Intuit also issued the results Tuesday of its Small Business Revenue Index for July, indicating that revenue per small business increased 0.4 percent across all industries, translating to an annualized rate of increase of 4.3 percent. The real estate, rental and leasing industry showed the greatest increase in monthly revenue, rising 0.6 percent. The accommodation, food service and drinking places industry saw a small decline in revenue from last month of 0.02 percent. This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from July 1 to 30.
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