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Small BuSineSS employment RemainS Flat FoR Second conSecutive month U.S. small business employment remained flat in March for the sec- ond consecutive month, while average hours worked and monthly wages both increased significantly. Overall, small business revenue declined 0.15 percent in February. Those are among the findings of the monthly Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes. This month's figures also revealed: • Despite the recent employment plateau, small businesses have added more than 575,000 jobs since March 2010. • Employees' average monthly compensation grew 0.4% in March, an increase of $9 from February's revised figure. • Average monthly hours worked by hourly employees grew 0.2 % in March, an increase of approximately 18 minutes from February's revised figure. The employment index is based on data from Intuit Online Payroll and QuickBooks Online Payroll, covering the period from Feb. 24 through Mar. 23. "Small businesses are continuing to hire, but the rate of new hires remains low — close to the level it fell to in June 2009," said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to create the indexes. "However, the number of employees leaving jobs or being laid off offsets the rate of hiring. Thus, employment levels remained flat for the second consecutive month. Employment losses in March were concentrated in states suffering from the cold weather, espe- cially in the upper Midwest and Mountain States. The silver lining is that nationally, small business employers are giving more hours to their existing employees, an increase of 0.2% from the previous month. This is the highest it's been since January 2013. "Over the last year, small business revenue has grown by 2.3% on a per-business basis, which is faster than the national rate of inflation. Revenue for all industry sectors has grown, with the exception of real estate services." Hourly small business employees worked an average of 108.8 hours in March, which translates to an 18-minute increase from February's figure of 108.5 hours, making for a 25-hour work week. Average monthly pay for small business employees also grew sig- nificantly, rising $9 to $2,747 in March, which is a 4.4% gain on an annualized basis. The equivalent yearly wages would be about $33,000. This total includes wages that small business owners pay to themselves. Small business employment increased in 23 of the 39 states tracked by Intuit's Small Business Employment Index. Kentucky continued to show the strongest state employment growth, at 0.3%. Fourteen states showed employment declines, while two remained flat. Missouri and Idaho recorded the larg- est declines for the second consecutive month, at 0.4% and 0.3% respectively. The February Revenue Index showed overall small business revenue decreased 0.15% on a per-business basis. Only the businesses in the construction and "other services" categories of Intuit's index registered revenue gains, while the major- ity reported declines. The "other services" category includes non-professional services, such as auto repair and gardening services. The real estate services industry showed the largest revenue decline at 0.8%, followed by the accommodation and food services sector, which dropped 0.2%. "We shouldn't view the revenue decline of the past six months as a collapse," Woodward said. "The decline has only been about 0.5%, which equates to approximately 1% on an annualized basis." This index is based on data from QuickBooks Online, covering the period from Feb. 1-28. changeS Will open dooR FoR moRe Small BuSineSSeS to QualiFy FoR SBa loanS, SayS cdc Small BuSineSS Finance More small businesses will soon be able to qualify for SBA loans to buy commercial/industrial buildings, according to CDC Small Business Finance. On April 21, the Small Business Administration eliminated provisions that prevented small business owners with a high-net worth to purchase commercial real estate with a SBA-504 loan. The 504 loan can also help business owners buy and install heavy machinery and equipment. Business OPeRATiOns N e w s www.fueloilnews.com | Fuel oil neWS | may 2014 23