Small businesses with primarily 1-10 employees are seeing a number of positive signs as the third quarter of 2014 comes to a close. Four out of five (81 percent) said they expect to have a profitable second half of the year; up from 77 percent in June, according to the September 2014 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard®.

SurePayroll Inc., a leader in providing online payroll to small businesses nationwide since 2000, releases its Scorecard monthly, giving an exclusive perspective on hiring and wage data from microbusinesses, a key driver of the economy.

Seventy-three percent of small business owners are optimistic about the small business economy, the Scorecard optimism survey found. Three in four small businesses met or exceeded their expectations for the third quarter. Slightly more than half said their third quarter results were better than last year’s. Fifty percent also plan to make investments in their businesses in the fourth quarter; up from just 44 percent at this time last year.

“The businesses that we work with are your mom and pop shops, your really tight-knit operations with just two or three employees, and a really high number of them have worked their way into profitability,” said SurePayroll General Manager Andy Roe on the hiring increase. “It’s tremendous and the excitement is really back in the air for small businesses heading into the year-end stretch. We’ll look to see more investment from business owners in staff, marketing and technology, as well as new equipment and even office space for some.”

The average paycheck ticked up 0.1 percent, according to the Scorecard, while hiring dropped 0.1 percent after being up in August. The percentage of 1099s being hired also leveled off at 6.6 percent after rising the last three months.

On a regional level in September, hiring was up 0.1 percent month over month in both the South and Western parts of the country. In the Midwest, hiring was down 0.3 percent and in the Northeast it was down 0.2 percent. The average paycheck was up 0.7 percent in the South; flat in the Midwest; and down 0.1 percent in the Northeast and 0.4 percent in the West.

As the first economic indicator created by a payroll company, the SurePayroll Scorecard has provided a monthly look at national hiring and paycheck trends since October 2004. SurePayroll’s Scorecard compiles data from small businesses nationwide, and exclusively reflects the trends affecting the nation’s “micro businesses” – those with1-10 employees. The average business reflected has six employees.

The full SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard – Main Street Matters infographic includes data for SurePayroll’s top MSAs. The September 2014 Scorecard is available now on the SurePayroll blog.

About SurePayroll

SurePayroll is the trusted provider of easy online payroll services to small businesses nationwide. Whether a business has 1, 10, or 100 employees, SurePayroll delivers peace of mind by combining innovative, industry-leading technology and personalized support from an award-winning, U.S.-based customer care team. SurePayroll also provides private-label and co-branded services for accountants and banking partners as well as offering efficient online solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers’ compensation, employee screening and more. SurePayroll is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex. For more information, please visit www.SurePayroll.com. Follow us on Twitter – Circle us on Google – Connect with us onLinkedIn – Like us on Facebook.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is a leading provider of payroll, human resource, insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company offers comprehensive payroll services, including payroll processing, payroll tax administration, and employee pay services, including direct deposit, check signing, and Readychex®. Human resource services include 401(k) plan recordkeeping, section 125 plans, a professional employer organization, time and attendance solutions, and other administrative services for business. A variety of business insurance products, including group health and workers’ compensation, are made available through Paychex Insurance Agency, Inc. Paychex was founded in 1971. With headquarters in Rochester, New York, the company has more than 100 offices serving approximately 580,000 payroll clients as of May 31, 2014. For more information about Paychex and our products, visit www.paychex.com.

Contact information
Lori Bolas
847-676-8420 ext. 7248
lori.bolas@surepayroll.com