November Regional Small Business Trends

Small businesses employee headcount increased in November in every region of the country. Year to date, every region except the Northeast has seen growth in small business hiring, and in the last couple of months we've seen the Northeast edging up in hiring. In fact, the NorthEast has crept back up to salary levels equivalent to where it was in April 2004.

Year to date, small business paychecks remain down in the Midwest and the West. In the Northeast, where businesses have not grown, salaries are up 5.2% for the year. In the South, we saw a big jump in average paycheck size last month, to the point where paychecks are now up 8.1% for the year on average. If there's a winner in the regional economies, it's clearly the South. They are the only region in the country that is up both in terms of employee counts and paycheck sizes.

Below is the SurePayroll Scorecard data for each region on a monthly basis since the beginning of the year.

Midwest Results

  SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
November '04 10,164 951
October '04 10,071 974
September '04 10,039 980
August '04 10,020 986
July '04 10,002 993
June '04 9,994 999
May '04 9,995 996
April '04 9,988 1,001
March '04 10,001 997
February '04 10,017 994
January '04 10,000 1,000


Northeast Results

  SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
November '04 9,687 1,052
October '04 9,681 1,033
September '04 9,667 1,032
August '04 9,661 1,037
July '04 9,649 1,027
June '04 9,672 1,024
May '04 9,663 1,022
April '04 9,688 1,017
March '04 9,760 1,012
February '04 9,884 1,004
January '04 10,000 1,000


South Results

  SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
November '04 10,217 1,081
October '04 10,145 1,000
September '04 10,113 996
August '04 10,091 1,003
July '04 10,054 1,004
June '04 10,023 1,002
May '04 10,002 999
April '04 10,005 998
March '04 9,991 998
February '04 9,999 997
January '04 10,000 1,000


West Results

  SurePayroll Hiring Index SurePayroll Pay Index
November '04 10,575 932
October '04 10,540 937
September '04 10,455 946
August '04 10,385 959
July '04 10,333 966
June '04 10,255 974
May '04 10,189 980
April '04 10,123 986
March '04 10,065 994
February '04 10,036 993
January '04 10,000 1,000


The SurePayroll Hiring Index and the SurePayroll Pay Index are generated as part of SurePayroll’s Small Business Scorecard, an economic indicator that tracks the health of the U.S. small business economy. The Small Business Scorecard is generated from actual payroll data — paychecks issued to contractors and employees — for tens of thousands of small businesses nationwide.

Questions regarding the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard can be directed to Michael Alter. Michael can be reached at malter@surepayroll.com or by phone at 847.676.8420 ext. 7229.


Questions regarding the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard can be directed to Marissa Hermo. Marissa can be reached at mhermo@kruppnyc.com or by phone at 212.886.6711.

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