Small Business Optimism Steady at 65 Percent
The SurePayroll® Small Business Scorecard Shows Hiring and Paychecks Still Lag
GLENVIEW, IL —April 30, 2012 — SurePayroll Inc., the leader in providing online payroll to small businesses nationwide, today announced April results for its monthly SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard® showing small business owners' optimism at 65 percent, despite a slight drop in hiring and size of average paychecks. Optimism remains well off its low of 33 percent in September of last year.
For those looking to hire, 40 percent of small business owners said they are having trouble finding qualified candidates in the fields of technology, sales/marketing, customer service and administrative work.
“We have a double-edged sword—on one side there’s a shortage of jobs. On the other side, where there are jobs, there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill them,” said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “As a nation, we need to look forward, educating and training in fields where jobs will be available in the future, instead of just training for the jobs available today.”
Month-over-month SurePayroll Scorecard data shows hiring just barely negative (-0.1) and average paychecks down 0.3 percent. Month-over-month regional hiring and paychecks were down slightly in all regions of the country except the South, where hiring was up just 0.1 percent.
Year-over-year, nationwide hiring is down only 1.4 percent and paychecks are down 1.3 percent. The South continues to show promising signs with hiring up 1.8 percent and paychecks up 0.4 percent. The West has had the steepest hiring decline at 5.1 percent.
As the first economic indicator created by a payroll company, the SurePayroll Scorecard has provided a monthly look on national hiring and paycheck trends since September 2004. SurePayroll's Scorecard compiles data from over 35,000 small businesses, and exclusively reflects the trends affecting the nation's "micro businesses" — those with an average of eight employees. The full SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard including data for the top 35 MSAs is available at www.SurePayroll.com.
About SurePayroll
SurePayroll is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex, providing an easy, online, convenient payroll service that keeps our more than 35,000 small business customers in control. SurePayroll also offers efficient online solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers’ compensation, employee screening and more. For accountants and banking partners, SurePayroll provides private-label and co-branded services that enable them to offer online payroll processing to their small business clients. The company has received numerous prestigious awards for its innovative technology, and outstanding customer service and sales teams, including recognition from PC Magazine, Accounting Today, the American Business Awards and many others. For more information, please visit www.SurePayroll.com.
About Paychex
Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is a leading provider of payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company offers comprehensive payroll services, including payroll processing, payroll tax administration, and employee pay services, including direct deposit, check signing, and Readychex®. Human resource services include 401(k) plan recordkeeping, section 125 plans, a professional employer organization, time and attendance solutions, and other administrative services for business. A variety of business insurance products, including group health and workers' compensation, are made available through Paychex Insurance Agency, Inc. Paychex was founded in 1971. With headquarters in Rochester, New York, the company has more than 100 offices serving approximately 564,000 payroll clients nationwide as of May 31, 2011. For more information about Paychex and our products, visit www.paychex.com.
###
Contact:
Melinda Brodbeck
Krupp Kommunications
212.886.6705
mbrodbeck@kruppnyc.com
Lori Bolas
SurePayroll, Inc.
224.223.2334
Lori.Bolas@surepayroll.com
Tags: