Small businesses expect positive results for the second half of 2014, according to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard survey for June. The survey found 77 percent of small business owners expect to be profitable in the second half of the year, up from 62 percent who said they were profitable in the first six months of 2014.

Additionally, June was the first time in 2014 that small business hiring nationwide has not gone down. Hiring was flat in the month of June, after declining slightly the previous five months. However, year-over-year hiring fell 0.6 percent and the average paycheck fell 0.2 percent month over month and 1.2 percent over the year.

“With several factors pointing to a high level of optimism, it suggests small business owners believe the economy is getting better, and will continue to do so as the year goes on,” said SurePayroll General Manager Andy Roe.

Optimism about the small business economy slipped to 66 percent in June from 69 percent in March, according to the survey.

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).