Intuit Small Business Employment Index Shows Healthiest Growth Rate In Two Years

Based on February’s numbers and revised national employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Intuit revised upward the previously reported February growth rate to 0.4 percent. This equates to 75,000 jobs added in February, up from a previously reported 55,000 jobs, though these numbers are expected to be lower once the Index is recalibrated.

Strong Increase in Hours Worked, Compensation

Small business hourly employees worked an average of 111.9 hours in March, an increase of 0.5 percent from the revised figure of 111.3 hours in February, making for a 25.8-hour workweek. Average monthly pay for all small business employees increased to $2,785 in March, an increase of 0.7 percent from the February revised figure of $2,767 per month. The equivalent annual wages would be about $33,400 per year, which is part-time work for many small business employees.

Small Business Employment by Geography

The Intuit Index shows overall employment growth in all census divisions for March, while a state breakdown shows slight decreases in three states.

“The decreases in the employment growth rates for Oregon, Pennsylvania and Illinois are so statistically close to zero they are not cause for concern,” said Woodward. “By contrast, things are beginning to look encouraging for New York, which is showing a positive change in small business employment growth after several months of decreases. The state may be doing better because a meltdown in Europe now looks less likely.”

U.S. Census Division				Percent Change in Employment
East North Central				0.10%
West North Central				0.15%
Middle Atlantic				0.2%
Mountain				0.6%
New England				0.3%
Pacific				0.4%
South Atlantic				0.3%
East South Central				0.5%
West South Central				0.5%

Small Business Employment by U.S. Census Division continues to grow in all parts of the country. The data reflects employment from over 77,000 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		1.2%
California		0.5%
Florida		0.5%
Georgia		0.4%
Illinois		-0.08%
Maryland		0.05%
Massachusetts		0.5%
New Jersey		0.3%
New York		0.3%
North Carolina		0.5%
Oregon		-0.2%
Pennsylvania		-0.2%
Texas		0.5%
Virginia		0.9%
Washington		0.7%

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 more than 77,000 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.

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