Report: Small business job growth lags general economy
Small businesses across the country posted employment gains in December despite experiencing a recovery that’s slower than the rest of the economy, according to research by the software manufacturer Intuit.
In its Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes, California-based Intuit said small businesses added 30,000, seasonally-adjusted jobs in December, representing annualized growth of 1.7 percent. This gain, however, was still below the overall economy’s hiring gain of 2.8 percent for the month.
Recovery from the Great Recession continues to be slower for small businesses than the rest of the economy, according to the report, with employment having risen 8 percent in the general economy, but just 4.4 percent for small businesses.
The report attributes the gap to “very slow” growth in construction, which comprises a larger fraction of small businesses than the general economy.
However, the average hourly wage for employees in small businesses rose 3.4 percent in December following a 3.7 percent jump in November, Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to produce the indexes, said in a statement. Wages increased 2.6 percent for hourly workers at small businesses compared to December 2013, the report found.
“With inflation at 1.3 percent, this represents a real gain,” Woodward said in a statement.
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