Despite a myriad of other changes in the work landscape, Small Business employment remains largely unchanged, according to the Paychex Small Business Employment Watch for September. The fluctuation of the national Small Business Jobs Index was 99.52. This is just 0.31 percentage points below the reading in August. Fluctuations over the past 12 months have been just over a half percentage point, according to the report.
The hourly earnings growth for U.S. small business workers also is still consistent, another spot of bright news. The national hourly earnings growth rose 0.025 percentage points from August to 2.68% in September. This is the first increase seen since October of last year. The hourly earnings growth for U.S. small business workers is below 3% for the 11th consecutive month, according to the Paychex news release.
“Our latest small business employment data once again indicates a steady labor market over the past year,” said John Gibson, president and CEO, Paychex. “This consistently reflects continued resilience from small business across the U.S. While we’re seeing little change in our national data, the Midwest continues to stand out and is the only region consistently delivering job growth over the past year and beyond.”
Such growth further emphasizes the importance of small businesses and the many ways small business owners empower their communities. These businesses provide support through the creation of local jobs, enhancement of economic opportunities and provide stability for local citizens. These attributes also help build wealth that is more likely to stay within a community.
The Small Business Data Center of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that small businesses employ nearly half of the American workforce, close to 43.5 percent of America’s GDP. Small businesses have also created more than three in five of all the new jobs since 1995 and lead the charge in being innovative to create a competitive edge. While consumers are often reminded to shop locally in November on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, this data confirms there are many reasons to support small businesses year-round.
Staffing Kansas City is an independently owned small business and WBE/DBE-certified employment firm specializing in executive placements.
