August marks the eleventh consecutive month of flat or shrinking hiring numbers across the nation, leaving us with a 2.6% decrease in small business hiring year to date. The average paycheck remains down 0.3% year-to-date. According to our Small Business Optimism Survey, 48% of small business owners report being optimism in August, nearly the same as last month but down significantly from June’s 67%.

 

August's Hiring Index and Optimism Meter

Year To Date Changes in Small Business Size and Average Paycheck for Select States as of August 31, 2011

 

August 2011 National Small Business Trends

August year-to-date small business hiring dipped to -2.6% (down from -2.4% last month) while the average paycheck remains at -0.3%.

The Hiring Index is a proxy for the size of the average small business workforce.

SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
August ’11 11,810 952
July ’11 11,827 952
June ’11 11,838 954
May ’11 11,840 952
April ’11 11,846 954
March ’11 11,849 955
February ’11 11,948 959
January ’11 12,054 960
December ’10 12,120 955
November ’10 12,155 949
October ’10 12,170 949
September ’10 12,160 948
August ’10 12,157 939

 

August 2011 Regional Small Business Trends

August’s regional results reflect the nation’s struggling economy. With the exception of the south, all regions show decreased hiring since July and produced negative year-to-date hiring numbers. And all regions except the south also experienced flat or reduced wages since last month.

Midwest Results
SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
August ’11 11,259 932
July ’11 11,271 937
June ’11 11,282 942
May ’11 11,288 940
April ’11 11,308 943
March ’11 11,325 946
February ’11 11,438 948
January ’11 11,550 952
December ’10 11,627 948
November ’10 11,685 946
October ’10 11,700 947
September ’10 11,703 946
August ’10 11,689 947

Northeast Results
SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
August ’11 12,104 970
July ’11 12,136 970
June ’11 12,164 971
May ’11 12,183 970
April ’11 12,206 972
March ’11 12,225 970
February ’11 12,303 972
January ’11 12,377 970
December ’10 12,434 965
November ’10 12,486 955
October ’10 12,516 954
September ’10 12,511 953
August ’10 12,475 955

South Results
SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
August ’11 12,058 956
July ’11 12,036 950
June ’11 12,004 951
May ’11 11,972 949
April ’11 11,932 950
March ’11 11,888 950
February ’11 11,934 954
January ’11 12,017 954
December ’10 12,032 950
November ’10 12,028 944
October ’10 12,004 944
September ’10 11,962 943
August ’10 11,911 944

West Results
SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
August ’11 10,788 1,130
July ’11 10,847 1,133
June ’11 10,901 1,134
May ’11 10,934 1,131
April ’11 10,970 1,135
March ’11 11,012 1,138
February ’11 11,178 1,145
January ’11 11,334 1,148
December ’10 11,464 1,139
November ’10 11,563 1,137
October ’10 11,614 1,138
September ’10 11,633 1,137
August ’10 11,612 1,136

 

About the Scorecard

Set in 2004, the SurePayroll Hiring Index (with a baseline of 10,000) and the SurePayroll Pay Index (with a baseline of 1,000) are generated as part of the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard®, an economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard is generated from actual payroll data — paychecks issued to contractors and employees — for tens of thousands of small businesses nationwide.

Questions regarding the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard can be directed to Lori Bolas or Jennifer Signorini. Lori can be reached at loriann.bolas@surepayroll.com or by phone at 847.676.8420 ext. 7248. Jennifer can be reached at surepayroll@racepointgroup.com or by phone at 617.624.3217.