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Small businesses increase hiring for first time this year

August 25, 2014

Small businesses with primarily one to 10 employees reported month-over-month hiring edged up 0.1 percent, the first increase of 2014, according to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard survey for August. The increase is significant because hiring had been flat to down on a month-over-month basis for a year.

 “It’s not a trend yet, but it’s a step in the right direction,” said SurePayroll General Manager Andy Roe. “We’ve seen small businesses grow their profitability using technology and innovation, now hopefully we’re starting to see them grow their staffs a bit more.”

On a year-over-year basis, small business hiring was down 0.7 percent in August, according to the SurePayroll report. However, optimism about the small business economy remained high at 70 percent, according to the survey, up from 68 percent in July.

The SurePayroll optimism survey found 22 percent are more likely to hire an independent contractor than a full-time worker. And 37 percent of those more likely to hire contractors said it is easier to assign a specific task to a 1099 than develop a full-time position. Nearly half, 48 percent, of small business owners said it is easier to contract out specific tasks than to develop a full-time position.

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