Release Details

–Small Business Payroll Data Reports Growth in Five out of the last Six Months–

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep. 5, 2014-- The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends that surveys data from 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by 1.2 percent during the month of August. This data follows a decrease of .08 percent in July.

“The August numbers represent continued strong hiring among our small business owners. At 1.2 percent, the SBEI demonstrates that we have had solid growth in five out of the last six months, with almost no month showing a decline. Historically, August has been a positive month for the SBEI, and 2014 is consistent with 2013 and 2012 data,” says Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services.

To review an infographic with data from the employment index, visit our blog.¹

Additional take-away points from the August SBEI jobs numbers include:

• At-a-glance: 26 percent of the companies participating in the SBEI added staff during the August period, while 22 percent decreased payroll. 52 percent of the small businesses held steady with employee counts month over month.
• Consistency matters: The major difference is the consistent pattern of job growth from March through August 2014, a pattern not seen in the past five years of the SBEI. Noftsinger believes that these numbers represent a very encouraging sign as the economy moves toward the final quarter of 2014.
• What to watch: Noftsinger expects the SBEI could see flat hiring data in September and then an uptick in October as the holiday season approaches, which seems to extend much further into the fall with each passing year.

CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than 3,500 businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries and geographies corresponding to the markets across the United States where CBIZ provides human capital services. The data represented by the SBEI is derived from a segment of employers not completely accounted for by the ADP and Federal BLS employment reports.

Editor’s note:
(1) The SBEI illustration is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at http://www.cbiz.com/insights-resources/blog.

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About CBIZ, Inc.

CBIZ, Inc. provides professional business services that help clients better manage their finances and employees. CBIZ provides its clients with financial services including accounting, tax, financial advisory, government health care consulting, risk advisory, real estate consulting, and valuation services. Employee services include employee benefits consulting, property and casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting, payroll, life insurance, HR consulting, and executive recruitment. As one of the nation’s largest brokers of employee benefits and property and casualty insurance, and one of the largest accounting and valuation companies in the United States, the Company’s services are provided through nearly 100 Company offices in 34 states. http://cbiz.com

Source: CBIZ, Inc.

Gregory FCA for CBIZ, Inc.
Jimmy Moock, 610-228-2125
jimmy@gregoryfca.com