There is a mixed feeling reading the news today for small business jobs. Firstly, it was encouraging to know that small businesses attracted 58,000 employees in May 2013. Overall, private-sector employment is increasing by 135,000.
The figure is better than last month’s 49,000, but still way lower than March’s 72,000. Overall, it looks good, although not great – but it’s still a positive economic indicator, which also reflected in the stock market.
Regarding the rising number of new hires in May 2013, Steve Blitz, chief economist at ITG in New York, explains “It’s not great, but it’s good. It leaves the tapering talk still on the table.”
Unfortunately, things are not as encouraging at the other side of the coin: Unemployment rate was slightly rose to 7.6 percent in May 2013 from 7.5 percent in April 2013.
Not only nationally, the mixed feeling also reflected regionally. Let’s take Florida, for example.
Employment at small businesses in Florida fell 0.02 percent in May… but in some cities in Florida, such as Orlando, unemployment rate drops to 6.4 percent in April – the lowest point since July 2008. In a recent list released by CardHub, Orlando ranked #12 out of 30 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.
Nevertheless, overall, small businesses should be positive, as the rise in new jobs happens in the midst of uncertainties.
Which U.S. cities are the best for small business jobs?
CardHub has just released a new study in its effort to identify the U.S. cities that are the most and least friendly to employees of small companies.
So, which cities top the list?
Denver: 97 percent of employers in Colorado are small businesses, with a whopping 30 businesses with fewer than 250 employees per 1,000 residents. The employment growth rate is the second faster in the U.S. and Denver offer the 5th highest wages for new hires.
Boston: Boston ranks in the top 10 across a number of categories: Small businesses per capita, small business vitality, unemployment rate, disposable income and hours worked.
Minneapolis: The surrounding metro area has 27 companies with fewer than 250 employees per 1,000 residents. Of those, half are companies with fewer than 50 employees. The big upsides? The least competition for jobs, employees spend relatively little time working, and Minneapolis ranks in the top 10 for small business vitality, industry variety and stress level.
Seattle: Seattle is a key West Coast hub for manufacturing, transportation and entrepreneurship. The Emerald City ranked fifth in small businesses per capita, second for small business vitality and in the top 10 for unemployment, new hire earnings and industry variety.
San Francisco: The Bay Area is super-friendly toward startups (Silicon Valley, anyone?) earning them the sixth most small businesses per capita, fifth in small business vitality and net small business job growth and second in new hire wages.
Here are the best and worst cities for small business employees – in pictures
Takeaway
We should never forget that small businesses RUN the economy. If you want the economy to improve, you need small businesses to perform better – and hire more. Did you know that small businesses account for 99.9 percent of U.S. companies and about half the nation’s employment? Any signs of optimism or pessimism in small business sector will determine where the economy is heading.
So, again, support small business and shop local!
Photo credit: Victor1588
