As small businesses in the United States begin to pick up the pace when it comes to hiring again, more of these companies may want to consider taking out a small business loan or merchant cash advance to ensure enough funds are available to pay workers in a timely manner.
Small business hiring increasing
According to a new report by the National Federation of Independent Business, hiring rose among small business owners in April, as smaller enterprises hired an estimated 0.14 new employees on average during the month.
Although this is slightly lower than March’s total and may seem insubstantial, it indicates progress after years of a stagnant job market mired in weak employment opportunities. In addition, this is the fifth month in a row that showed positive growth in employment.
About 13 percent of small business owners reported adding an average of 3.2 employees – an increase of 4 percent from the number of owners who said the same in March – to their workforce over the last few months, NFIB data indicates. Nearly half of small business owners either recruited or attempted to recruit new hires within the last three months.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate dipped to 7.5 percent in April, and the country conjured up an additional 165,000 new jobs during the month.
More small business owners have a positive outlook of the economy and said they believe they will be able to employ new workers later this year. Six percent of small business owners polled said they intend to hire new workers over the next three months, a net increase of 6 percent after months of dour owner sentiment on hiring.
“April was another positive, albeit lackluster month for job creation,” said Bill Dunkelberg, NFIB chief economist. “But small business owners are expressing a bit more enthusiasm in hiring plans in the months to come.”
Small business owners still struggle to find talent
Yet it wasn’t all good news, as the survey showed small business owners had a hard time finding workers with the right skill set for the jobs they need done. More than 75 percent of entrepreneurs in the market for new workforce talent said they struggled to find strong candidates during their recruitment process.
Recruiting qualified workers and putting a strong team in place is important to business growth. Small business owners that feel they are ready to hire new employees to build their business, but are unsure of how they will cover all the costs, can contact National Funding to learn about how a small business loan or merchant cash advance may help supply the working capital they need to expand their workforce.
