The CBIZ
Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring
trends for more than 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees,
increased by 0.39 percent during December, following an increase of 0.82
percent in November.
ADP’s December jobs survey revealed that the private sector added
215,000 jobs, convincingly exceeding analysts’ estimates of 140,000 jobs
and surpassing November’s revised tally of 148,000 added jobs.
“As expected, and consistent with readings from the entire fourth
quarter, our Index shows a minimal .39% gain. A reading this low, while
not negative, does show that small businesses surveyed are still holding
back on hiring, most likely awaiting the results from Washington on tax
rate changes as well as spending cuts,” says Philip Noftsinger, business
unit president for CBIZ
Payroll Services.
To view and/or use a graphic illustration that tracks and illustrates
the employment index, visit
our blog here.¹
Additional take-away points from the November data set include:
-
At-a-glance: Of the companies surveyed, 24 percent increased
staffing while 23 percent of the companies decreased employee
headcounts. Fifty-three percent of the companies surveyed maintained
their number of employees.
-
Small business sector: The budget and tax battles in
Washington, D.C. continue to give pause to entrepreneurs and shrink
their appetite for risk, thereby continuing to mute the hiring by
small businesses.
-
What to watch: Even as the House of Representatives reached a
bi-partisan agreement on tax rates, the battle will continue on
spending cuts as we approach another vote on the debt ceiling.
“Unfortunately, the situation in Washington seems to be a ‘wet blanket’
on what overall have been some encouraging macro numbers lately, such as
housing and consumer spending,” says Noftsinger.
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 notes:
(1) The SBEI illustration is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at http://blog.cbiz.com.
(2) The United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics Employment Situation Summary is due to be released on Friday,
January 4, at 8:30 a.m. ET. Mr. Noftsinger is available for media
interviews to discuss employment trends and other payroll matters
impacting the American small business environment.
About CBIZ,
Inc. (NYSE:CBZ)
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 and consulting,
internal audit, merger and acquisition advisory and valuation services.
Employee services include employee benefits consulting, property and
casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting, payroll, life insurance,
HR consulting, and executive recruitment. CBIZ also provides outsourced
technology staffing and support services, healthcare consulting, and
medical practice management. As one of the largest benefits specialists
and one of the largest accounting, valuation, and medical practice
management companies in the United States, the Company’s services are
provided through more than 130 Company offices in 37 states. Visit our
website at www.cbiz.com
and our blog, “Human Capitalizing,” at http://blog.cbiz.com.
