CBIZ Small Business Employment Index Inches Higher

The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends for more than 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by 0.82 percent during November, following a decrease of 0.89 percent in October.

ADP’s November’s jobs survey revealed that the private sector added 118,000 jobs, exceeding analysts’ estimates in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, but falling short of October’s revised tally of 157,000 added jobs.

“Continuing a near zero change, this month’s Small Business Employment Index further verifies that small businesses are still holding back hiring, despite some brighter news economically,” says Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services.

To view and/or use a graphic illustration that tracks and illustrates the employment index, visit our blog here.¹

Additional take-away points from the November data set include:

• At-a-glance: Of the companies surveyed, 26 percent increased staffing while 20 percent of the companies decreased employee headcounts. 54 percent of the companies surveyed maintained their number of employees.
• Small business sector: With the 2012 presidential election decided, small businesses should prepare for full implementation of the  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA). To read more about tax-related provisions affecting employers, click here.

• What-to-watch: Even a settlement to the current budget stalemate, would likely mean increases in taxes as well as slower government spending. This will further delay growth within the small business sector and beyond.

“The continual struggle in Washington, DC between the House and the President provides little hope of predictability in terms of the 2013 business environment,” says Noftsinger.

CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than 3,500 businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries and geographies corresponding to the markets across the United States where CBIZ provides human capital services. The data represented by the SBEI is derived from a segment of employers not completely accounted for by the ADP and Federal BLS employment reports.

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