CBIZ Small Business Employment Index Reveals
Consecutive Monthly Declines
Payroll Indicator Previews Monthly BLS Report for Sub-300 Employer Businesses
September 02, 2010 02:19 PM Eastern Daylight Time
CLEVELAND--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Today, CBIZ Payroll Services – a business unit within
professional and financial services firm CBIZ, Inc. (NYSE:CBZ) announced the CBIZ Small Business Employment
Index for August decreased by 1.01 percent. This was the second consecutive monthly decline in employee payrolls
within the small business surveyed – an indication that small businesses remain cautious and fearful that the
economy’s recovery is stalling.
The index has seen correlation with the federal government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report throughout 2010 and
serves as a preview to the report to be released on Friday, September 3.
Additional take-away points from the August data includes:
l More companies are cutting staff: The payroll data showed that 28 percent of the companies managed by
CBIZ Payroll Services slashed their headcount during the month of August, compared to 24 percent of
companies doing so in July. Year-to-date the data shows more jobs have been added than cut.
l More signs of caution: Of the 2,964 companies included in the survey in August only 22 percent added
employees and 50 percent made no change. July data showed that 26 percent of companies added staff;
while 50 percent maintained headcount (2,917 companies represented the total companies during the July
index).
l What to watch: Going forward, seasonal occupation will have more effect on employment numbers as the
summer ends.
Philip Noftsinger, Business Unit President for CBIZ Payroll Services, monitors the monthly data on behalf of CBIZ
and notes, “We’ve been experiencing relative stability in the overall employment market. We tracked only marginal
changes in employment levels, which are consistent with the period of limited economic growth that the economy has
experienced since the recession end