Time to Hire?... Maybe Not So Fast Even as the pace of hiring eases, small businesses continue to haul the job train along. Is your business hiring?
By Catherine Clifford •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Business owners trying to figure out whether to add new employees might be facing a tougher decision after today's disappointing jobs report. The pace of hiring slowed in March, casting doubt on the pace of the U.S. economic recovery.
But one thing is for sure: The smaller and midsize companies are creating the lion's share of jobs. So is it time for you to hire the help you need?
Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the U.S. economy added 120,000 jobs last month, a far cry from the 246,000 jobs the economy has been adding on average in the past three months.
Related: Recruiting and Hiring Top-Quality Employees
Through the recovery, small businesses have been hiring at a much faster rate than their larger counterparts, according to recent report from private payroll company Automatic Data Processing. ADP says that small (1 to 49 employees) and midsize (50-499) payrolls have added far more jobs each month than large companies (500 employees and more).
In the three months ended in March, small payrolls added 310,000 jobs, more than six times the 51,000 jobs that large businesses added. (Note: Some large businesses break their payrolls down into smaller bits, and so some large business job growth ends up being tallied on smaller payrolls.)
Related: How to Hire Workers for Crummy Jobs
This hiring trend would support the premise behind the JOBS Act, which President Obama signed into law yesterday, giving small businesses and entrepreneurs greater access to capital. "Overall, new businesses account for almost every new job that's created in America," said Obama from the Rose Garden as he signed the bill.
Feedback: Does the most recent read on the labor market change your plans about bringing on that next employee? Leave a comment below and let us know.
