Intuit reported Tuesday that small businesses added 35,000 new jobs in July, but revenue and the number of hours worked declined.

Susan Woodward

The 35,000 new jobs represented a 0.17 percent increase over June, or an annualized growth rate of 2.1 percent, according to data from approximately 82,000 small business customers of Intuit Online Payroll.

Small business revenues are gradually recovering from recessionary depths, but are just now reaching levels seen before the recession began in 2007, according to aggregated data from QuickBooks Online. The accommodation and food services sector saw the biggest decline at 0.7 percent, followed by the retail industry at 0.5 percent.

“This month’s indexes indicate a mixed bag for small businesses,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the indexes. “Revenues have been declining for two months now, so the weak employment growth rate for July is not a surprise. The silver lining is the construction industry, which saw an increase in revenue in May and the smallest decline in June. While construction accounts for about 8 percent of employment among all companies, it accounts for roughly 20 percent of employment for small companies, so any change in this sector is important.”

Compensation increased 0.3 percent in July, or $7, and now is $2,724 per month, compared to a revised June figure of $2,717 per month. Average monthly hours worked declined 0.3 percent, or 24 minutes, in July to 106.3 hours.