Half of small businesses in the U.S. expect to hire for new positions in 2014, according to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard survey for January. However, the survey found nationwide hiring edged down 0.1 percent month over month in January and fell 1.7 percent compared to January 2013.

“We’re still in glass half empty, glass half full territory. The problem is the glass needs to be full before we see real growth,” said SurePayroll CEO and President Michael Alter. “Small businesses have learned how to profit without hiring during the last two years, and that’s not going to change unless everything lines up just right. Demand has to rise, cash flow has to increase and then there have to be qualified candidates to hire. Small business owners just aren’t seeing that right now.”

SurePayroll’s Scorecard compiles data from more than 40,000 small businesses and exclusively reflects the trends affecting businesses with one to 10 employees. The average business reflected has six employees.

SurePayroll Inc. provides online payroll services to small businesses. It is a subsidiary of Paychex Inc. (NASD: PAYX).