Small businesses in the U.S. added 10,000 jobs in January, according to QuickBooks maker Intuit, although the pace of growth slowed slightly.
Meanwhile, hourly employees made slightly less money and worked fewer hours, Intuit reported Tuesday. Overall, small business revenue declined 0.5 percent in December. Those are among the findings of the monthly Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes. The figures also revealed that employment increased 0.04 percent from December to January. In addition, average monthly compensation fell 0.02 percent in January, a decrease of 50 cents from December.
Average monthly hours worked by hourly employees declined 0.2 percent in January, a decrease of approximately 12 minutes from December.
The employment index is based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll, covering the period from Dec. 24 through Jan. 23.
“Businesses with 1 to 19 employees now employ 20.3 million people,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to create the indexes. “That number is still below the 21.2 million they employed in March 2007, but it is a welcome change from the employment stall from May through October.”
Hourly employees worked an average of 107.4 hours in January, a 12-minute decrease from December’s figure of 107.2 hours, making for a 24.7-hour work week.
Average monthly pay for small business employees also dropped slightly, falling 50 cents to $2,703 in January. The equivalent yearly wages would be about $32,400. This average includes wages that small business owners pay to themselves.
Small business employment increased in 24 of the 38 states tracked by Intuit’s Small Business Employment Index. Ten states showed employment declines, while four remained flat. Kentucky saw the largest employment increase in January, at 0.3 percent. The largest decline was in Pennsylvania, at 0.13 percent.
Small business employment results were mixed for the states in which Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll has more than 1,000 small business firms. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative about the overall economy.
The December revenue index showed overall small business revenue decreased 0.5 percent on a per-business basis. Continuing the trend from December, all industries saw revenue decline except for the construction and “other services” sectors, the latter of which covers non-professional services.
The real estate services industry showed the largest decline at 1 percent. The retail industry followed, dropping by 0.8 percent.
This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from Dec. 1-31.
