Intuit Finds Small Businesses Added 50,000 Jobs in March

Small business employment continued to grow in March, according to Intuit, with employers adding 50,000 new jobs.

The number of hours worked continued to grow in March, but wages remained flat. The results are based on small businesses of fewer than 20 employees using Intuit Online Payroll. The monthly report from Intuit found that small business employment grew by 0.2 percent in March, equating to an annual growth rate of nearly 3 percent. This translates to approximately 50,000 new jobs created nationwide this month.

“Employment is up again for small business this month,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the Intuit Small Business Employment Index. “The gain, at an annual rate, is not quite as large as last month but it’s still encouraging. Plus there is one more sign of strength—employment was up for the first time in many months in all nine U.S. divisions. On the state level, employment was up for many of the ‘sand states’—Oregon, California, Arizona, and Florida—or those states hit hardest by falling real estate prices.”

Based on this latest data, the employment growth rate for February was revised slightly up to 0.3 percent, equating to 60,000 jobs added for the month and a 3.7 percent annual growth rate. Since the growth trend first began in October 2009, small business jobs have increased by a revised estimate of 820,000.

Small business hourly employees worked an average of 107.7 hours in March, making for a 24.9-hour work week. This is a 0.12 percent rise from the revised February figure of 107.6 hours.

Average monthly pay for all small business employees was $2,614 per month in March. This is a 0.03 percent decrease, which is essentially flat, compared to the February revised estimate of $2,615 per month. This translates to wages of about $31,400 per year, which is part-time work for many small business employees.

“There is no sign of any pressure on small businesses to pay people more,” continued Woodward. “This should not be a surprise given the high unemployment rate, especially among unskilled workers, and considering that small businesses use relatively more unskilled labor than larger businesses do.”

The Intuit Index also breaks down employment by census divisions and states across the country. Small business employment by U.S. census division continued to grow across the country including the West North Central division.

Small business employment by state is up for many states across the country.