Small Business Employment Index Slightly Increased in November

The November increase came after posting a decrease of 1.28% in October. Of the companies surveyed, the data shows 23% reported a decrease in employee headcount, while 24% increased staffing. Fifty-three percent of the companies surveyed maintained their number of employees in November.

Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services explained, “The results of the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index for November provided a mild growth in employment, consistent with our expectations that low levels of hiring would take place as we approach the holiday season.

“The small business owners we’re engaged with still remain cautious because of continued economic concerns; however a slight increase in employee hiring has been traced to the holiday shopping season. While that may not inspire confidence in terms of future economic growth, those numbers are modestly better than in 2009 and 2010. Our biggest hope for sustained job growth is a robust holiday season and continued growth in capital spending by small businesses,” said Noftsinger.