Job creation among small businesses continued in February,
albeit slowly. This slow growth was accompanied by a small uptick
in compensation and slight decrease in hours worked.
These are among the results for the Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU)
Small Business Employment Index for February, covering the period
between Jan. 24 and Feb. 23. February’s report estimates that small
business employment grew by 0.2 percent, equating to an annual
growth rate of 2.9 percent, and approximately 45,000 new jobs.
Intuit plans to recalibrate its Employment Index in the coming
months and expects these numbers to be lower. This is a common
statistical practice and the recalibration will be based on new
data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which are used as
inputs into the Index.
While employment grew slowly in February, average monthly hours
worked decreased slightly by 0.04 percent, or six minutes, and
average monthly compensation increased by 0.15 percent, or $4 per
worker.
The Index is based on figures from small businesses with fewer
than 20 employees that use Intuit Online Payroll. More information
on the index is available at index.intuit.com.
“We saw another month of tepid improvement for small businesses
in February, echoing pretty much all of the other indicators of
economic activity,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked
with Intuit to create the Index. “As an overall trend, employment
is up modestly, but the number of hours worked by hourly employees
is about the same as last month, seasonally adjusted.”
“Compensation is up very slightly in dollar terms, but adjusted
for inflation, it is essentially flat. The hiring rate is slightly
down on a seasonally adjusted basis, and sits at about half of what
it was before the recession was underway. The low hiring rate
reflects the reluctance of employees to leave their jobs in such an
unsecure job market, so employers do not need to hire to replace
them. This phenomenon is present in firms of all sizes, and is not
unique to small firms.”
Based on January’s numbers and revised national employment data
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Intuit revised upward the
previously reported January growth rate to 0.3 percent. This
equates to 55,000 jobs added in January, up from a previously
reported 50,000 jobs, though these numbers are expected to be lower
once the Index is recalibrated.
Slight Decrease in Hours Worked, Increase in
Compensation
Small business hourly employees worked an average of 108.5 hours
in February, a slight decrease of 0.04 percent from 108.6 hours in
January, making for a 25-hour workweek. Average monthly pay for all
small business employees increased slightly to $2,686 in February,
an increase of 0.15 percent from the January revised estimate of
$2,682 per month. The equivalent annual wages would be about
$32,200 per year, which is part-time work for many small business
employees.
Small Business Employment by Geography
The Intuit Index shows employment growth in all census
divisions, except for the East North Central region.
“Interestingly, the biggest gains were seen in the states that
have suffered most from the recession – the majority of the western
states, plus Florida,” said Woodward. “The area around New York
continues to look softer than the rest of the country.”
U.S. Census Division
Percent Change in Employment East North
Central -0.03% West North Central 0.07% Middle Atlantic 0.11%
Mountain 0.6% New England 0.15% Pacific 0.4% South Atlantic 0.3%
East South Central 0.4% West South Central 0.4%
Small Business Employment by U.S. Census Division
continues to grow in most parts of the country. The data reflects
employment from approximately 73,000 small business employers who
use Intuit Online Payroll. The month-to-month changes are
seasonally-adjusted and informative about the overall economy.
State Percent Change in Employment
Arizona 1.0% California 0.4% Florida 0.5% Georgia 0.3% Illinois
-0.09% Maryland -0.04% Massachusetts 0.3% New Jersey 0.3% New York
-0.06% North Carolina 0.2% Oregon -0.18% Pennsylvania -0.16% Texas
0.5% Virginia 0.6% Washington 0.8%
Small Business Employment by State is up for most states
in which Intuit Online Payroll has more than 1,000 small business
firms represented. The month-to-month changes are seasonally
adjusted and informative about the overall economy.
About the Index
The Intuit Small Business Employment Index is based on aggregate
and anonymous online employment data from approximately 73,000
small business employers, each with fewer than 20 employees. These
small business employers use Intuit Online Payroll and represent a
subset of the total Intuit Online Payroll user base. These smallest
employers are important to the economy as they comprise 87 percent
of the total U.S. private employer base and employ nearly 20
million people. More information is available at:
index.intuit.com.
Intuit reports data for three categories: small business
employment, compensation and hours worked. Intuit analyzes and
publishes the data at the beginning of each month. The Index also
includes employment data broken down by geography. As with the
government data, there may be revisions to the Intuit Index
numbers. These revisions are partly due to calculations using the
latest month of new Intuit data. These calculations include
re-computing seasonal factors and the moving average process used
to obtain the curve, which can change the values for previously
reported months. Changes to the data also arise from revisions to
the government employment data that are used as inputs to the
Intuit Index.
While the Intuit Small Business Employment Index offers
macroeconomic insight about the economy generally, it does not
indicate or represent changes in Intuit’s business results for any
period.
The Index data reflects monthly employment activity in small
businesses, and is adjusted to account for changes in Intuit’s
Online Payroll customer base. The percent change is measured
monthly using the change in employment for existing Intuit Online
Payroll customers from one month to the next. The set of customers
changes each month so the measurement is the change, for each pair
of months, for customers who are present in both the earlier and
the later month.
Quick Links
Intuit Small Business Employment Index: index.intuit.com
Intuit on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Intuit
Intuit Payroll on Twitter: www.twitter.com/IntuitPayroll
Intuit Small Business Blog: www.blog.intuit.com
About Intuit Payroll
Intuit is the No. 1 payroll provider with more than 1 million
customers. The company provides a range of fast, easy and accurate
payroll solutions to meet a variety of small business needs. These
include do-it-yourself payroll solutions such as Intuit Online
Payroll as well as do-it-for-me solutions such as Intuit Full
Service Payroll. Intuit also offers easy-to-understand and
affordable small business employee benefits and insurance including
employee healthcare, 401(k) retirement plans and worker’s
compensation insurance.
About Intuit Inc.
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial
management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial
institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and
accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services,
including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small
business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and
tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's
leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.
Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions grow by
providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier for
consumers and businesses to manage their money.
Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.9 billion in
its fiscal year 2011. The company has approximately 8,000 employees
with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United
Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found
at www.intuit.com.
Intuit and the Intuit logo, among others, are registered
trademarks and/or registered service marks of Intuit Inc. in the
United States and other countries. Intuit Small Business Payroll
Index is copyrighted by Intuit. Its contents may not be resold or
modified in any way. It can be linked to and referenced with the
following attribution: “Intuit Small Business Employment Index ©
Intuit Inc. All rights reserved.” These Terms of Use supplement the
Small Business Website Terms of Service at:
http://smallbusiness.intuit.com/small-business/legal/index.jsp?_requestid=178246.
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