Release Details

– Delayed start to holiday season hiring reflected in year-over-year comparisons–

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2013-- The CBIZ Small Business Employment Index (SBEI), a barometer for hiring trends that surveys data from 3,500 companies with 300 or fewer employees, decreased by .42 percent during October following a decrease of 2.15 percent in September.

Comparatively, Wednesday’s ADP’s October survey revealed that the private sector added only 130,000 jobs during the month, missing economists’ expectations of 150,000. September’s revised tally stands at 145,000 jobs created, after 166,000 jobs created were reported initially.

“Our past data has shown that the holiday season hiring uptrend typically starts during October. That trend was seen in our last two years of data, but this October we see no evidence of the usual retailer-driven hiring. Given the government shutdown, we are not surprised to see a delay in this hiring pattern. That being said, there is not enough evidence yet to say that this year’s holiday season hiring will be weaker than last year’s payroll additions,” explains Philip Noftsinger, business unit president for CBIZ Payroll Services.

“It is very possible that over the past few years employers have held onto hiring plans later in the season, favoring quicker training programs and more specific job duties—leaving more complex jobs to veteran workers and avoiding longer ramp-up times and greater risk in terms of their overall investment,” continues Noftsinger.

To view and/or use a graphic illustration that tracks and illustrates the employment index, visit our blog here.¹

Additional take-away points from the October data set include:

• At-a-glance: Of the companies surveyed, 23.5 percent decreased staffing, 24.1 percent increased staffing and 52.4 percent maintained their number of employees.
• Small business sector: This month’s SBEI shows very little change, consistent with mild declines in the prior two October periods of 2011 and 2012. Even though the total change was negative, the number of companies showing growth was higher than those showing a decline as employers adjust headcount going into the holiday shopping season.
• What to watch: With the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer survey report showing its lowest level since April, those following the labor markets are not fully confident that 2013 will extend a four-year growth in holiday employment. We will watch the BLS numbers closely as well as other labor reports to confirm a later hiring season.

CBIZ Payroll Services manages payroll services for more than 3,500 businesses. Its index reflects a broad array of industries and geographies corresponding to the markets across the United States where CBIZ provides human capital services. The data represented by the SBEI is derived from a segment of employers not completely accounted for by the ADP and Federal BLS employment reports.

Editor’s note:
(1) The SBEI illustration is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at http://blog.cbiz.com.

About CBIZ, Inc.

CBIZ, Inc. provides professional business services that help clients better manage their finances and employees. CBIZ provides its clients with financial services including accounting, tax, financial advisory, government health care consulting, risk advisory, merger and acquisition advisory, real estate consulting, and valuation services. Employee services include employee benefits consulting, property and casualty insurance, retirement plan consulting, payroll, life insurance, HR consulting, and executive recruitment. As one of the nation’s largest brokers of employee benefits and property and casualty insurance, and one of the largest accounting and valuation companies in the United States, the Company’s services are provided through nearly 100 Company offices in 32 states.

Source: CBIZ, Inc.

Gregory FCA for CBIZ, Inc.
Jimmy Moock, 610-228-2125
Cell: 610-348-7849
jimmy@gregoryfca.com