An increase in last month's CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI) may be sign of positive hiring trends for small employers.
The index, which measures hiring trends for smaller companies (300 or fewer employees) increased by 1.35 percent, continuing upward after an increase of .69 percent in March.
Of the companies, 26.9 percent said they increased employee numbers, and 53.2 percent said their numbers stayed the same. 19.9 percent of the companies surveyed reported a decrease.
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And despite the disappointing first-quarter GDP news and last week's increase in jobless claims, the index is showing positive job growth for the third month in a row. "This month's results show a stronger growth factor than the results in the prior two periods, indicating there may be less volatility in the small business marketplace," saud Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services.
A factor that may interfere with future growth is rising gas prices, as it may hamper new business projections and increase operation costs.
"It will be important to see if recent world events, as well as sluggish economic indicators from the first quarter, reverse the employment trend among smaller employers," Noftsinger says. "It remains our opinion that smaller employers are dialed in to short-term demand and engaging larger workforces based primarily upon that factor."
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