SurePayroll Scorecard Indicates Slowed Small-Business Hiring

Small business payroll experts SurePayroll Inc., has released the results of its SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard , showing that hiring for small businesses was down 0.1 percent over the month with average paychecks remaining flat. Business-owner optimism has also taken a hit in November falling 8 points from October to sit at 60 percent. The survey also showed that most small businesses (61 percent) are not more certain that the government will avoid the impending “fiscal cliff” now that the election has ended.

“The sense I think many small-business owners have right now is that the government is either stalled or making only short-term decisions, rather than providing direction and leadership for the future,” said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “As business owners, they understand that sometimes you have to think short term, but not at the cost of a long-term solution. Until they see a more forward-thinking plan, they may continue to exercise caution.”

Hiring was shown to be down in every region except the South which experienced a 1.4 percent growth even while paychecks were down 0.7 percent over the year. Nationwide, hiring is down 1.4 percent and paychecks are down 1.3 percent over the previous 12 months. The most extreme hiring decrease occurred in the West, down 4.9 percent while paychecks fell 0.8 percent. Midwest hiring fell by 2.1 percent though paychecks rose 1.3 percent. Paychecks in the Northeast took the biggest hit falling 4.8 percent while hiring was down 1.7 percent in November.