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30 August 2011 ,
Written by Dhruv Tanwar
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Small businesses created 35,000 new jobs in August, but employees worked fewer hours and received less money, according to the latest update from Intuit Inc.'s Small Business Employment Index, covering the period between July 24 and Aug. 23.
The monthly report found that small business employment grew by 0.18 percent in August, equating to an annual growth rate of 2.2 percent. Hours worked and compensation decreased by 0.3 percent and 0.08 percent respectively.
"There was plenty of bad news this month and the Intuit small business employment figures show this," said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the Index. "While employment rose overall, and increased in most of the regions and states that we report on, there are other signs that the small business labor market is weak."
"Compensation and hours worked fell-which is the opposite of what we reported in July. From this month's numbers, we don't see a new recession, but we don't see a robust recovery either. The labor market for smaller businesses is still soft," Woodward added.
Small Business Employment by Geography
The Intuit Index also breaks down employment by census divisions and states across the country. The Pacific, South Atlantic and West North Central regions posted the largest employment gains at 0.3 percent. "In contrast to compensation and hours worked, the breakdown by geography tells a more hopeful story," said Ginny Lee, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit's Employee Management Solutions division. "Employment is still up in most states and divisions across the country. For the few with declines, they are slight and statistically insignificant." |