Global| Jan 30 2012Intuit Indicates Small Business Hiring But Weak Earnings
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Intuit compiles data covering small business employment and 2012 started with a weak gain. For January, its employment index rose 0.2% to 96.14. The index has been rising for just over two years but this month's gain was the weakest [...]
Intuit compiles data covering small business employment and 2012
started with a weak gain. For January, its employment index rose 0.2%
to 96.14. The index has been rising for just over two years but this
month's gain was the weakest since November 2010. Regardless, the index
was up 4.1% y/y and built on its 3.3% increase in 2011 and 0.1% in 2010.
Intuit also surveys average monthly compensation and it has been fairly weak. A 0.1% January slip was the seventh in as many months. In addition, the 0.3% y/y gain was its weakest since the change became available in 2008. Also, small business hours worked have gone nowhere. A negligible January slip was the eighth month down in a row and they're off 0.4% y/y.
The Intuit Small Business Employment Index is based on anonymous online employment data from small business employers (each with fewer than 20 employees) that use Intuit Online Payroll. These smallest employers comprise about 88 percent of the total U.S. private employer base and employ nearly 20 million people. The Index reflects monthly employment activity in small businesses, and is adjusted to account for changes in Intuit's Online Payroll customers from one month to the next.
The Intuit figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Intuit Small Business Employment Index | Jan | Dec | Nov | Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employment Index (Jan. 2007 = 100) | 96.14 | 95.91 | 95.63 | 4.1% | 3.3% | 0.1% | -6.2% |
| Average Monthly Compensation ($) | 2,632.14 | 2,634.63 | 2,637.62 | 0.3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 1.0 |
| Average Monthly Hours Worked Index | 107.54 | 107.59 | 107.74 | -0.4 | 1.7 | 2.3 | -0.9 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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