Small Business Employment, Revenue Growing

NEW YORK (AP) ⿿ Revenue and staffing are both growing at small businesses but have yet to get back to pre-recession levels, according to data released by business software provider Intuit Inc. on Wednesday.

The company's Small Business Revenue Index shows that retail, professional services, construction and real estate businesses saw revenue increases in April. Revenue was flat for employers in food service, health care and social services.

The Revenue Index is based on data from 170,000 small businesses.

The Small Business Employment Index showed a 0.2 percent rise in employment for the current month through May 23 compared with the month before. This is equal to about 40,000 jobs created, but that number is likely to change as Intuit recalibrates the index.

The Mountain and East South Central regions experienced the most employment growth during the month, with the Arizona, Colorado and Virginia experiencing the biggest gains.

The Employment Index is based on data from 78,000 small business employers.

"Both (indexes) indicate there is a recovery under way. We need growth at this level for two more years for small business employment to return to the level we saw in early 2007," Susan Woodward, an economist who worked with Intuit on the indexes, said in a statement.

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