According to our survey of small business owners conducted in the last week of October, 2009, optimism levels dropped to 50 percent, an additional 10 percent decline from small business optimism levels in the prior month.
Small business hiring is up slightly from the previous month, bringing us to a 2.2 percent year-to-date increase. Small business salaries are headed in the opposite direction, continuing to decrease, with a year-to-date decline of 7.3 percent.
The SurePayroll Hiring Index is now 11,494, up 29 points from September. The SurePayroll Pay Index dropped to 954, down eight points from September. The SurePayroll Contractor Index jumped 7 points to 4.32 percent from 4.25 percent in the month prior, suggesting that small businesses remain heavily reliant on independent contractors.
| October 2009 Data |
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> The Latest National Results Small Business Economy: YTD Hiring Up 2.2 Percent, YTD Salaries Down 7.3 Percent |
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> The Latest Regional Results Year-to-Date Small Business Hiring Up In Three of Four Regions |
| For SurePayroll President Michael Alter's take on the data, visit his blog on Inc.com. |
| If you are interested in state Scorecard data, please send your request to Michael Alter, President of SurePayroll, at malter@surepayroll.com. |
