Small-business employment grew by 0.43 percent in April, marking the third consecutive month of growth after a 1.25 percent gain in March, according to the CBIZ Small Business Employment Index.
This news comes after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 165,000 jobs were added in April as the unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent from 7.6 percent in March.
After revising March's numbers, small-businesses added 131,000 jobs.
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"The CBIZ SBEI inched up in April after a major move forward the previous period, which displayed surprising signs of growth," says Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services.
The report found that 24 percent of respondents hired more employees, while 23 percent of respondents reduced staff. Fifty-three percent of respondents maintained their employee levels.
"Major headwinds on the macro level continue to mute what would normally be more opportunistic hiring by our small-business owners," Noftsinger said.
Primarily, new employment does not appear to be keeping on pace with overall population growth, the report said.
CBIZ noted that workers are leaving the work force, which is a factor in the overall stability of the unemployment rate. But these employees leaving the work force were not baby boomers starting retirement. Rather, more than three-fifths of this group was between ages 25 and 54.
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