Small business hiring continued at the same rate as June, giving us two consecutive months of +0.2 percent nationwide hiring growth. The average paycheck, however, has leveled off, remaining flat month-over-month since June’s -0.6 percent dip over May. That brings us to a year-to-date increase in small business hiring of 4.1 percent — a +0.2 percent increase over June — and a year-to-date pay decrease of -0.4 percent.

July 2010 National Small Business Trends

Small business hiring rose while paycheck sizes flatlined in July.

The Hiring Index is a proxy for the size of the average small business workforce, including employees and contractors. Its rise of 20 points this month implies continuous, modest hiring gains in the small business sector. With no change from the previous month, the average small business paycheck is temporarily stable.

July 2010 Regional Small Business Trends

July’s regional results reflect the national results of modest hiring gains and small paycheck size differences, with some dips and upticks. All regions except the Midwest experienced hiring growth. The Midwest and West saw paycheck size increases of 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, while the Northeast suffered a -0.1 percent dip and the South remained flat.

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.