Monday, March 15, 2010

Small Business Hiring Increases

If you are like most small business owners, you are looking for any signs of optimism! Here is another step in the right direction.

For the second consecutive month, small business hiring and salary levels rose nationally, according to data from the Small Business Scorecard survey, released by research firm SurePayroll. Additionally, small business optimism improved dramatically in February, with 61% of respondents having a positive outlook on the economy.

"Truth is, while the numbers are telling us we've bounced off the bottom and are now heading in the right direction, only the actions of the small business owners will demonstrate when we're completely out of the water," said Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll.

Nationwide, small business hiring increased 2%, while by region, the West saw the most improvement at 2.2%. Hiring spiked significantly in California and Illinois, while falling in Colorado and Pennsylvania. Salaries rose very slightly, up 0.2%, but broke a consistent downward trend, possibly triggering salary stabilization amid renewed confidence from business owners.

"When they're feeling positive, we'll see their safe-bet decisions, such as hiring contract workers rather than adding full-time employees, turn into more aggressive actions, such as adding headcount and making capital expenditures," Alter says. "We'll see paychecks holding steady, without erratic dips or slight increases. We'll also see our optimism levels return to 2007's highs of nearly 80%."

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