Small Business Hiring Plummets in July, According to CBIZ Small Business Employment Index
August 04 2017 - 7:45AM
Business Wire
- SBEI records a significant decrease in hiring
of 2.26 percent in July, a sharp decline from the prior month’s
positive reading -
The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), which tracks
hiring trends among thousands of companies that employ 300 or fewer
employees across the U.S., reported a significant decrease in
hiring activity of 2.26 percent this July. This reading follows a
record breaking increase in hiring in June.
“Small businesses are yet to demonstrate their desire to hire
employees on a consistent basis and are instead hiring in pulses,”
says Philip Noftsinger, President of CBIZ Employee Services
Organization. “The reasons behind this likely vary from a declining
confidence in the U.S. economy to sustainably grow, to the
inability of Congress to make discernable progress on fiscal policy
decisions that will impact employee healthcare costs.”
ADP and Moody’s Analytics’ reported that the economy added
178,000 jobs in July, falling below economists’ expectations of
190,000.
To view an infographic with data from the employment index,
visit the CBIZ blog.1
Additional takeaways from the July SBEI include:
- July’s snapshot: Compared to the
June reading of the SBEI, 49 percent of companies refrained from
making employment changes, 31 percent cut headcounts while only 19
percent increased their employee totals. This reading of the SBEI
is the largest decline during the July period, which averages at a
0.87 percent decrease.
- Industries at a glance:
Industries posting positive growth include Agriculture and
Financial Services. However, a much larger group of industries’
hiring fell below zero, headlined by Non-Profits, Accommodations,
Food Services, Technology, Life Sciences, Retail and Healthcare.
Construction, an important industry for employment growth, posted a
slight decrease for the month.
- Geographical hiring: The West
region took a hiring hit, resulting in a decline of 4.36 percent,
followed by the Central region with a 2.38 percent decline in
hiring. The Southeast, posted a decrease of 1.7 percent and the
Northeast region decreased 0.54 percent.
- What’s next? A lack of sustained
economic growth paired with inaction on Capitol Hill will yield
uncertainty, and small business owners may be hesitant to make
hiring decisions. In order for sustained labor market growth to
occur, clarity must emerge surrounding fiscal policy changes in
addition to continued macroeconomic growth.
CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than
4,000 businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries
and geographies corresponding to the markets across the U.S. 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 note:
(1) The SBEI Illustration is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on our work at
http://www.cbiz.com/insights-resources/blog.
Follow CBIZ on Twitter at @CBZ or on Facebook.
About CBIZ, Inc.
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,
financial advisory, government health care consulting, risk
advisory, real estate consulting, and valuation services. Employee
services include employee benefits consulting, property and
casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting, payroll, life
insurance, HR consulting, and executive recruitment. As one of the
largest accounting, insurance brokerage and valuation companies in
the United States, the Company’s services are provided through more
than 100 Company offices in 33 states. CBIZ Employee Services
Organization is a division of CBIZ Benefits & Insurance
Services, Inc.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170804005055/en/
Gregory FCA for CBIZ, Inc.Kelly Forst,
610-228-2396kellyf@gregoryfca.com
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