CBIZ Small Business Index Shows Job Growth in May

 The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index for May showed a significant gain in number of jobs increases ( 1.91 percent), an impressive jump following April’s increase of .43 percent. However, the May jobs survey from ADP reported private sector growth at only 135,000 jobs, well below the forecasted 167,000 new jobs. Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services said:

“The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index posted a healthy 1.91 percent gain for May, further demonstrating that there is economic growth taking place despite fiscal and monetary policy ambiguity. The rules of the game are the same in June as they were in May; we need our legislators to create a definable environment from which business owners and leaders can make investment decisions”

Other key findings from the data include:

• 28 percent of small business respondents reported to have increased staffing in May, compared to 18 percent decreasing staffing, and 54 percent remaining unchanged.

• A better understanding of future fiscal policy would allow small business owners to do more speculative hiring, further helping to advance the growing economy.

• Worries over the general, and still not fully understood, effects of sequestration continue to plague small business owners making growth somewhat difficult thanks to opaque fiscal policy formulation. Though the approaching seasonal summer hiring should help to bolster the CBIZ Index throughout the midyear.