Although the U.S. added fewer jobs than expected to the economy in January, it was small businesses that took the lead in improving employment rates throughout the country. Approximately 175,000 jobs were created or filled last month, 75,000 of which can be attributed to small-business owners with fewer than 50 employees, a recent ADP report found.
Payroll processor ADP’s National Employment Report found that medium-sized businesses with 50 to 499 employees created an additional 66,000 jobs in the U.S. throughout the month of January, while large-scale companies with 500 or more employees trailed behind with 34,000 newly filled positions. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected the ADP report to show an increase of 189,000 jobs, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The report, which compiles payroll data for almost 24 million workers around the U.S., comes ahead of the release of Department of Labor statistics and is on par with 2013 job growth data. Mark Zandi, Moody’s Analytics chief economist and contributor to the report, said that while job growth was lower this month than anticipated, he does not think slow growth will remain a trend throughout 2014.
“Cold and stormy winter weather continued to weigh on the job numbers. Underlying job growth – abstracting from the weather – remains sturdy,” Zandi said.
As ADP officials and other economists note, small businesses are increasing hiring even through the bitter winter months, a sign of things to come on the part of entrepreneurs. A surge in hiring often prompts even more need for additional funding. If a small-business owner is working to stay ahead of the competition, they can contact National Funding, a small business lender, and find new ways to help propel their business forward.
