Small Business Employees Worked More, Earned More in January

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Intuit Indexes Show Small Businesses Added 20,000 New Jobs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today issued its monthly Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes. Below are topline results from each of the reports:

Small Business Employment Index

  • U.S. small businesses added 20,000 new jobs in January, an increase from December of 0.09 percent, making for more than 880,000 jobs added since March 2010.
  • Hourly employees worked an average of 112.0 hours in January, up 30 minutes, or 0.4 percent, from December’s revised figure. This is the largest number of hours worked since Intuit began tracking in 2004.
  • Small business employees’ monthly pay grew by 0.4 percent, with average compensation reaching $2,841, up $12 from December.

These findings come from the monthly Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Employment Index and are based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll, covering the period from Dec. 24 – Jan. 23.

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Employment Index shows an increase of 0.09 percent in January. The Employment Index reflects data from approximately 247,000 small business employers, a subset of small businesses that use Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative about the overall economy.

Small Business Revenue Index

  • Revenues per small business increased by 0.4 percent in December, roughly 4.4 percent when annualized.
  • The Other Services category showed the largest growth, up 0.5 percent. Construction and Real Estate followed with growth of 0.4 percent.
  • Since May 2009, Professional Services has grown the fastest at 6.2 percent per year; Healthcare services have seen the slowest growth at 2.2 percent per year.
  • None of the industries tracked by the Revenue Index showed a decline in December.

This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from Dec. 1-31.

Small Business Employee Monthly Hours Worked for hourly employees increased by 0.4 percent in January. The levels reflect data from approximately 690,000 hourly employees of the Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll customer set of approximately 247,000 small businesses and is not necessarily representative of all small businesses. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative of the overall economy.

A Closer Look at Results

  • The Small Business Employment Index

“While small businesses added new jobs in January, it wasn’t as fast in the previous two months. We did see a big rise in hours worked during the month, up 0.4 percent, almost a half an hour. This is the highest level of hours worked per employee since we began tracking more than a decade ago. A change this large nearly guarantees an increase in compensation per worker, which rose by slightly more than 0.4 percent in January,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to produce the Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes.

“Longer work hours drove most of the increase in compensation, but some was also due to a higher hourly wage. Both of these appear to be due to the recovering economy,” Woodward said.

Wages for hourly workers rose again in January –2.3 percent at an annual rate. The number of hourly workers who worked full-time rose by half a percent, to 31.5 percent. The new-hire rate also rose slightly, but is still far below its pre-recession levels.

Western states drove employment growth, led by Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Nevada. With the exception of Idaho, these states have recorded the fastest small business employment growth rates for the past three months.

States in the Great Lakes and New England regions showed the weakest growth. Michigan, Wisconsin and Massachusetts, which posted the lowest growth for the past two months, continued that trend. Despite geographic variations in hiring, all states saw an increase in hours worked for hourly employees, and all saw a rise in compensation per worker.

Small Business Employee Monthly Compensation for all employees increased by 0.4 percent in January. This data includes the compensation paid by small business owners to themselves. The levels reflect data from approximately one million employees of the Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll customer set of 247,000 small businesses, and are not necessarily representative of all small business employees. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative about the overall economy.

  • Small Business Revenue Index

Revenue per small business showed solid gains across all industries, growing 0.4 percent in December and 4.4 percent when annualized.

“This is a substantial change in small business revenues,” said Woodward, noting that, in the last year, the Other Industries category has led growth at 6.3 percent, followed by Construction and Real Estate, each at 5.0 percent, reflecting the increase in construction activity and home sales. “These three industries have seen the fastest growth over the last year,” said Woodward.

In contrast, the revenue growth for Healthcare was again below average, at 4.2 percent; the slowest growth occurred in the Accommodation sector, which includes restaurants and bars, at 2.2 percent.”

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Revenue Index is based on data from more than 251,000 small businesses, a subset of the total QuickBooks Online financial management user base.

About the Intuit Small Business Indexes

The Intuit Small Business Indexes provide unique, near real-time information each month on the activity of the smallest businesses in the U.S. in terms of revenue, hiring and compensation trends.

The Employment Index is based on anonymized, non-identifiable aggregated data from approximately 247,500 small business employers, a subset of users that use Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll. The Revenue Index is based on anonymized, non-identifiable aggregated data from approximately 150,000 small businesses, a subset of users that use Intuit’s QuickBooks Online financial management offering and are matched in Dun & Bradstreet’s small business industry classifications.

Together, the indexes provide a more complete picture of the economic health of the nation’s small businesses. More information on the Intuit Small Business Indexes is available at index.intuit.com.

About Intuit Inc.

Intuit Inc. creates business and financial management solutions that simplify the business of life for small businesses, consumers and accounting professionals.

Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. Mint.com provides a fresh, easy and intelligent way for people to manage their money, while Demandforce® offers marketing and communication tools for small businesses. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had revenue of $4.5 billion in its fiscal year 2014. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

Intuit Inc.
Stephen Sharpe, 650-224-2362
Stephen_Sharpe@Intuit.com
or
Access Communications
Bitsy Rich, 917-522-3516
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Source: Intuit Inc.

Released February 2, 2015