Intuit has released their newest Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index. The index is a powerful monthly indicator of employment and hiring among the smallest of businesses within the US, Canada and the UK. The index was developed in collaboration with leading global economist Professor Ufuk Akcigit of the University of Chicago.
Here is a synopsis of some of the US components of the index.
In the US in August, small businesses with one to nine employees created 76,700 jobs — an increase of 0.59% since July. Nationally, these businesses now employ 13,145,600 people, up from 13,068,900.*
Source: Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index
This is the third consecutive month of small business employment growth and the largest monthly increase since the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index was launched.
According to the index, small business employment grew in ten of the twelve sectors during August, 2023:
Education and health services (NAICS 61 & 62): added 15,400 jobs, with a monthly growth rate of 0.66%.
Professional and business services (NAICS 54, 55-56): added 11,100 jobs, with a monthly growth rate of 0.50%.
Leisure and hospitality (NAICS 71 & 72): added 7,200 jobs, with a monthly growth rate of 0.47%.
Manufacturing (NAICS 31-33) and Information (NAICS 51) were the only sectors without growth, down by 300 jobs (0.02% decrease) and 200 jobs (0.06% decrease), respectively.
Source: Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index
A positive growth trend has persisted across all regions of the Index. The Southeast region created the most small business jobs in August — 19,700 in total — with a monthly growth rate of 0.63%.
The Great Lakes region had the highest rate of small business job growth in August at 0.95% — adding 18,100 small business jobs . Illinois, in particular, has reached a level of small business employment similar to before the pandemic, demonstrating a remarkable rebound.
Source: Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index
The Index revealed a remarkable surge in employment among small businesses during August. (Professor Ufuk Akcigit)
Small business employment exhibited a steady decline over a span of 10 consecutive months following its peak around the middle of 2022. However, this prolonged downturn has recently displayed encouraging signs of abating. Notably, the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index revealed a remarkable 0.59% surge in employment among small businesses during August, hinting at a potential reversal of the previous downward trend.
The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index shows a positive growth trend across nearly all sectors. Notably, energy prices, which have been on a downward trajectory since March 2023, continued their descent through August, registering a substantial 12.5% year-on-year decrease. This decline spurred an increase in energy demand and a simultaneous reduction in costs across various sectors.
Additionally, the price of commodities, excluding food and energy components, witnessed a marginal decrease of 0.3% over the past month, prompting an increase in demand for commodities.
For more details regarding the Index, refer to the most current findings HERE.
Disclosures
Feature content and graphic materials were adapted from informational press content of Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index. The adapted source content by Insightful Accountant is furnished for educational purposes only.
As used herein, QuickBooks® and the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index refer to one or more registered trademarks of Intuit Inc., a publicly-traded corporation headquartered in Mountain View, California.
The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index creates aggregated data outputs from a sample of anonymized QuickBooks Online Payroll customer records which are calibrated using statistical methods to create modeled results which better reflect the general population of small businesses in each country, as represented by published official statistics. Statistical adjustment ensures the Index truly reflects employment and job vacancy changes rather than trends in the QuickBooks customer base.
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