Small Businesses fuel job growth
According to an Automatic Data Processing report, private sector employment went up by 208,000 positions in November. Almost half of these new jobs were created by small businesses.
Fortune magazine noted that while economists had predicted an increase of closer to 225,000 private sector jobs, this massive addition to small business hiring shows promise for the job market and business in general. The Washington Post reported that while this sector – which includes companies with fewer than 50 employees – saw similar growth in October, it had previously been struggling. November’s impressive data represents the first back-to-back job growth over six figures for the small business sector since February 2012.
This growth was split almost equally between organizations in the smallest category – fewer than 20 employees – and those with between 21 and 50 staff members. The first saw the addition of 48,000 to its payroll, while the latter increased its workforce by 53,000. The most successful small businesses were in the service industries.
The Washington Post reported that small business owners see this data as a promising sign for their future. Half of small-business owners anticipate an increase over last year’s holiday sales, and an increased amount are planning to give out employee bonuses this season.