Record Small Biz Employment Levels Face New Challenges

Small business employment enjoyed some reinvigoration in June, according to Paychex.

The firm’s Small Business Jobs Index, developed in conjunction with researchers at IHS, reportedly increased by 0.21 percent last month — a significant increase considering May’s 0.18 percent decline.

Across the second quarter of 2016, small business employment rose by 0.07 percent, analysts said, with the change of pace between May and June serving as the most dramatic since June 2013.

“We had a nice rebound in the month of June,” said Paychex President and CEO Martin Mucci in a statement. “Last month, when the Small Business Jobs Index decreased, it foreshadowed the slow jobs number [from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics].”

“With the Paychex number increasing now, maybe we’ll see the jobs number up,” he continued.

Mucci added that, with the index at the highest it’s been this year, the data suggests 2016 is a positive year for job growth among the small business community.

When broken down by region, the South Atlantic market experienced the largest growth, hitting record levels last month. Washington, Florida and Georgia all led the way in job growth, and by city, Seattle and Dallas took the top spots, Paychex found.

Legislative activity could have an impact on these figures, however, according to Mucci.

The executive said new minimum wage laws may have “a little bit of a dampening effect on job growth.” He also pointed to the Department of Labor’s plans to investigate the effect of mobile technology on overtime pay — to explore how employees work overtime by checking emails and completing tasks on their mobile devices.

It is unclear if, or how, that research may also impact job growth among SMEs.

Brexit, meanwhile, is unlikely to have a significant impact on small business employment in the U.S., Mucci noted.