Employment at small business in the U.S. employment grew by 0.01 percent in September, while compensation and hours worked declined, according to figures from Intuit.
The small business software developer also reported Tuesday that small business revenues saw an overall decline of 0.04 percent in August, with the exception of the construction industry, which each showed a 0.4 percent increase.
Those were among the findings of the monthly Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes
The report found that average monthly compensation decreased 0.2 percent in September, with average monthly pay reaching the equivalent of $2,657, down $7 from August. Average monthly hours worked by hourly employees decreased by 0.2 percent in September, which is equivalent to 106 hours, down 12 minutes from August.
The employment index is based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll, covering the period from Aug. 24 through Sept. 23.
“Small businesses employ about 20 million people. In this context, the slight increase of 0.01 percent, or approximately 1,000 jobs, is almost no change at all,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the indexes. “The silver lining is that the small business hiring rate is up for the 11th month in a row. This increase is an encouraging sign of strength in a small business labor market that is otherwise in the doldrums,”
Of the 37 states tracked by Intuit’s Small Business Employment Index, 31 showed employment gains, while five saw declines and one remained flat. Wisconsin saw the greatest employment gain, at 0.3 percent. Oklahoma saw the greatest decline at 0.07 percent.
All census divisions showed growth, except the East South Central, which remained flat. The Mountain division saw the largest growth in small business employment.
State | Change |
Alabama | -0.06 |
Arizona | 0.13 |
Arkansas | -0.02 |
California | 0.05 |
Colorado | 0.11 |
Connecticut | 0.07 |
Florida | 0.09 |
Georgia | 0.13 |
Idaho | 0.08 |
Illinois | 0.05 |
Indiana | 0.11 |
Iowa | 0.04 |
Kansas | 0.09 |
Kentucky | 0.02 |
Louisiana | 0.08 |
Maryland | 0.07 |
Massachusetts | 0.08 |
Michigan | 0.08 |
Minnesota | 0.16 |
| Mississippi | 0.09 |
Missouri | 0.02 |
Nevada | 0.04 |
New Jersey | 0.09 |
New Mexico | -0.01 |
New York | 0.08 |
North Carolina | 0.04 |
Ohio | 0 |
Oklahoma | -0.07 |
Oregon | 0.06 |
Pennsylvania | 0.05 |
South Carolina | 0.12 |
Tennessee | -0.01 |
Texas | 0.08 |
Utah | 0.11 |
Virginia | 0.03 |
Washington | 0.18 |
Wisconsin | 0.30 |
The August revenue index showed a 0.04 percent drop in overall small business revenue on a per-business basis. This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31.
The professional services industry and the accommodation and food services sector dropped the most, by 0.4 percent each. The construction industry grew again this month, increasing by 0.4 percent. Real estate services, whose recovery has been bumpier, also resumed recovery this month, increasing 0.4 percent.
