Small Business Employment Remained Flat in August; Labor Market Warming, Hours Worked, Compensation and Revenue Show Increases

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intuit Inc.:

Topline Results
The Small Business Employment Index

  • There were no new jobs added in August; there have been more than 705,000 jobs added since March 2010.
  • Employees’ average monthly compensation increased 0.6 percent, a rise of $16 from July’s revised figure.
  • Average monthly hours worked by hourly employees increased from July by 0.6 percent, which equates to a total of 36 minutes.
  • Findings come from the monthly Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes; based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll, covering the period from July 24 to August 23.
  • The hiring rate for August is up slightly, to 5.78 percent; the U.S. small business sector has 770,000 jobs to go to return to the level of March 2007.
  • With employment flat for small business, results are mixed across states.
  • States losing employment were mainly centered on the Great Lakes, with Michigan and Wisconsin losing the most in percentage terms. States with the biggest gains were Utah and Florida.

The Small Business Revenue Index

  • For July, revenues per small business grew by one-half of one percent for the month, or roughly 6 percent at an annual rate.
  • The first half of 2014 has brought revenue growth that is faster than the 0.4 percent monthly (4.3 percent annualized) average for the last decade.
  • The industry with the biggest rise was real estate rental and leasing, which grew by 1.3 percent.
  • Real estate revenues have grown sharply over the past four months, reflecting the pick-up in home sales.
  • The lowest growth in revenue per business was in accommodation and restaurants, which was up 0.1 percent for the month.
  • This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from July 1-31.

Quotes from Susan Woodward:
Susan Woodward is the economist who works with Intuit to create the Small Business Employment and revenue Indexes

  • “The labor market for small business is warming. Though there were no new jobs, the rise in hours worked, full-time workers, compensation, and the hiring rate all show small business activity on the rise.”
  • “Small business employment expansion was slow early in 2014, then picked up to 22,000 jobs per month for March through June, a reflection of the revenue changes per business.”
  • “For August employment, the change is zero. The revised estimate for July is that employment rose by 7,000 jobs. While total payroll employment is now above its previous peak of January 2008.”
  • “Over the last year, revenues per business have grown about 5 percent across all industries, with slower growth in late 2013, and faster in 2014.”

Small Business Employee Monthly Compensation for all employees increased by 0.6 percent in August. 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 242,000 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 Employee Monthly Hours Worked for hourly employees increased by 0.6 percent in August. The levels reflect data from approximately 1,100,000 hourly employees of the Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll customer set of approximately 242,000 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.

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 237,000 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 $4.2 billion in its fiscal year 2013. 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 September 3, 2014