How did small businesses weather a cold February? One in three said the weather caused a slowdown, while optimism remained strong. See more results with SurePayroll's February 2014 Scorecard.

1. SUREPAYROLL SMALL BUSINESS SCORECARD
®
Main Street Matters
NATIONAL HIRING
AND SALARY INDICES
METRO-BASED HIRING AND SALARY
INDICES
REGIONAL HIRING
AND SALARY INDICES
FEBRUARY 2014
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DATA
MONTHOVER-MONTH
CHANGES
YEAROVER-YEAR
CHANGES
IN SMALL BUSINESS
HIRING & PAYCHECKS
Hiring
Index
Pay
Per Check
NATIONWIDE
-0.1%
-0.1%
MIDWEST
-0.2%
NORTHEAST
IN SMALL BUSINESS
HIRING & PAYCHECKS
Hiring
Index
Pay
Per Check
NATIONWIDE
-0.6%
-1.2%
0.2%
MIDWEST
-1.4%
1.0%
-0.4%
-0.3%
NORTHEAST
-2.8%
-2.7%
SOUTH
0.1%
-0.3%
SOUTH
2.2%
-0.5%
WEST
0.0%
0.1%
WEST
-2.0%
-1.1%
REGIONAL HIRING MAP
REGIONAL HIRING MAP
THE SMALL BUSINESS
Optimism Outlook
75%
72%
69%
63%
May 2013 Aug 2013 Nov 2013 Feb 2014
More on the
Small Business
Landscape
34
While the weather certainly had an impact on
business in February, more than 60 percent of
small business owners also said the cost of
salary and wages is a barrier to hiring right
now. One in three are not finding qualified
candidates. If cost was not an issue, small
business owners said sales, marketing and
administrative assistant personnel would be at
the top of their hiring list. Despite the severe
weather, only 37 percent have a disaster plan
in place for their businesses.
%
of small business
owners surveyed
experienced a
slowdown during
the first two months
of the year due to
severe weather.
METRO AREA
MONTHOVER-MONTH
CHANGES
YEAROVER-YEAR
CHANGES
IN SMALL BUSINESS
HIRING & PAYCHECKS
Hiring
Index
Pay
Per Check
ATLANTA
0.5%
-0.2%
BOSTON
-0.5%
CHICAGO
IN SMALL BUSINESS
HIRING & PAYCHECKS
Hiring
Index
Pay
Per Check
ATLANTA
4.4%
-1.5%
0.9%
BOSTON
-9.9%
-4.8%
-0.3%
0.5%
CHICAGO
-2.1%
1.0%
CLEVELAND
-0.4%
-0.8%
CLEVELAND
0.8%
-2.9%
COLUMBUS
0.2%
0.1%
COLUMBUS
-2.6%
1.4%
DALLAS
-0.1%
0.2%
DALLAS
1.7%
10.3%
DENVER
0.3%
-0.9%
DENVER
-2.7%
-9.0%
DETROIT
0.3%
0.1%
DETROIT
-0.2%
10.3%
HOUSTON
-0.1%
0.1%
HOUSTON
-1.4%
1.5%
LAS VEGAS
0.1%
-0.4%
LAS VEGAS
-5.0%
-2.2%
LOS ANGELES
0.3%
-0.2%
LOS ANGELES
-2.2%
-2.2%
MIAMI
0.3%
-0.4%
MIAMI
9.5%
-5.5%
MINNEAPOLIS
-0.1%
0.0%
MINNEAPOLIS
-2.8%
-1.8%
NASHVILLE
0.0%
-0.2%
NASHVILLE
-0.4%
2.9%
NEW YORK
-0.1%
-0.4%
NEW YORK
-3.6%
-0.7%
NORFOLK
-0.3%
-0.2%
NORFOLK
2.3%
-5.6%
ORLANDO
-0.4%
0.3%
ORLANDO
-3.4%
-0.8%
PHILADELPHIA
0.1%
-0.4%
PHILADELPHIA
-5.7%
2.9%
PHOENIX
-0.1%
-0.2%
PHOENIX
1.4%
-1.6%
RALEIGH-DURHAM
0.4%
-0.5%
RALEIGH-DURHAM
9.4%
-5.0%
RICHMOND
-0.2%
0.1%
RICHMOND
-0.8%
-9.8%
SAN DIEGO
0.1%
-0.7%
SAN DIEGO
-1.5%
-5.6%
SAN FRANCISCO
-0.3%
0.8%
SAN FRANCISCO
-1.9%
1.7%
SEATTLE
-0.3%
0.1%
SEATTLE
-7.9%
-2.9%
TAMPA
0.1%
-0.4%
TAMPA
0.7%
1.9%
WASHINGTON DC
-0.3%
-0.5%
WASHINGTON DC
-0.7%
-3.9%
NATIONWIDE % OF 1099s
6.74%
6.8%
6.7%
6.6%
6.73%
6.5%
6.46%
6.4%
6.3%
6.2%
6.1%
6.0%
5.9%
5.8%
5.7%
5.6%
FEB-14
JAN-14
DEC-13
NOV-13
OCT-13
SEPT-13
AUG-13
JUL-13
JUN-13
MAY-13
APR-13
MAR-13
FEB-13
5.5%
Use of 1099s is generated from actual payroll data – paychecks issued to
contractors and employees – from small businesses nationwide.
SMALL BUSINESS SCORECARD
®
Main Street Matters
As the first economic indicator created by a payroll company, the SurePayroll
Scorecard has provided a monthly look at national hiring and paycheck trends
since October 2004. SurePayroll's Scorecard compiles data from small
businesses nationwide, and exclusively reflects the trends affecting the nation's
"micro businesses" — those with 1-10 employees. The average business
reflected has 6 employees. The SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard - Main
Street Matters infographic also includes data for SurePayroll's top 35 MSAs.
Contact
Lori Bolas
847-676-8420 ext. 7248
loriann.bolas@surepayroll.com
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