Over the last several months or more, many small business owners seem to have started feeling better about their chances for success and, as such, have tried to bring on more workers. That trend certainly seems to have continued in June as well.
In all, small business employment grew by 20,000 jobs last month, marking the fourth consecutive period in there was an increase, according to the latest Small Business Employment and Revenue Index from the industry firm Intuit. There’s still a considerable way to go, however, to reach the all-time high see in March of 2007, as current levels sit some 900,000 workers below that number.
But it’s not all bad news, the report said. Since March 2010, when the financial downturn was well and truly over, these companies have added some 595,000 jobs and things seem to be ramping up.
“This month’s employment data makes for the fourth consecutive month of small business job growth after a flat job market early in 2014. While employment growth continued this month, changes for compensation and hours worked were mixed but very small,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to create the indexes. This indicates that while the employment picture has improved, there is little pressure on wages or hours. The revenue figures for small businesses are better than they have been in some years – they were up in April, and are up even more in May. The rise in revenues for all businesses is about three-fourths of one percent, which is a lot, and if it continued for a year, would give us an increase of 10 percent.”
How are these workers paid?
Meanwhile, it seems that the average worker for these companies continues to work relatively little, with an average of 107.2 hours worked in June, the report said. That’s down 0.02 percent from May – approximately one minute – and comes to an average of 24.7 hours per week. However, the average monthly pay for those employees increased about $1, rising to $2,715 for the month. That comes out to about $32,000 per year, and $15.92 per hour.
Owners who want to hire more workers might do well to make sure their companies are well-positioned, and that could include taking the time to find ways of cutting expenses, such as small business insurance policies. Cutting costs for this type of coverage, including liability insurance, might save thousands per year that can then be devoted to other concerns.
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