Small-business employment grew by .25 percent during Febraury after a 2.75 decrease in January, according to the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, which measures hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees.
"The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index reported a .25 percent gain in February, in line with positive reports from other sources," says Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services. "February's gain, although slight, is an important one in that it is a positive sign that employment gains in the small-business sector are holding outside the holiday shopping season."
The survey also finds that 22 percent of respondents say they experienced a decrease in employee headcount while 24 percent say they increased staffing. Another 54 percent of respondents maintained their employment numbers.
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"Other reports of an anecdotal nature are reporting consistent information showing small business improving their employment numbers, but only slightly and only as demand dictates," Noftsinger says. "The February report from the National Federation of Independent Business shows that poor sales are still the No. 1 problem for small businesses, although the gap between sales and other concerns has narrowed over the past 12 months. That narrowing indicates that demand is increasing for small-business goods and services, which is contributing to the mild to modest gains in employment."
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