IHS Small Business Jobs Index Remains Positive in December

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Small business job growth in Dallas continues to surge as the index jumped 0.47 percent in December to 107.04. While growth has slowed for most metros over the past year, employment conditions have improved 3.50 percent in Dallas. After dropping 4.66 percent during the first three quarters of 2015, Minneapolis has improved 0.37 percent in the last quarter of 2015. Conversely, Baltimore had the poorest performing fourth quarter of 2015, falling 1.39 percent to the lowest-ranked metro index at 98.37. Miami has improved 1.16 percent over the past 12 months, despite the 0.45 decline in December.

Industry Employment Trend

Improving to 104.35, Other Services (except Public Administration), which includes offerings as varied as repair and maintenance to personal and laundry services, remains the top-ranked industry, followed by Construction at 101.66. Outpacing employment growth at the national level, the Construction index has been above 101 for more than four years. Rising to the third spot among industries at 100.49, Leisure and Hospitality improved 0.26 percent in December. Ranked last among the industries tracked by the index, Manufacturing has been the weak spot of the U.S. economy due to the high value of the dollar. The Manufacturing index is down 1.16 percent over the past year and fell below 99 for the first time in five years to close 2015.

About the Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index

The Paychex | IHS Small Business Jobs Index is released each month by Paychex, Inc., a leading provider of payroll, human resource, insurance, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small-to medium-sized businesses, and IHS, Inc., a leading global source of critical information and insight, providing analysis of small business employment trends across the U.S. The index analyzes same-store, year-over-year worker count changes to identify and track small business employment trends using real small business payroll data from the Paychex client base. The index is based on aggregated data from approximately 350,000 small businesses with fewer than 50 workers across the United States, one of the largest sample sizes of any small business index or report in the country, and provides timely, accurate insight into national, regional, state, metro, and industry employment activity.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) is a leading provider of integrated human capital management solutions for payroll, HR, retirement, and insurance services. By combining its innovative software-as-a-service technology and mobility platform with dedicated, personal service, Paychex empowers small- and medium-sized business owners to focus on the growth and management of their business. Backed by more than 40 years of industry expertise, Paychex serves approximately 590,000 payroll clients across 100 locations and pays one out of every 15 American private sector employees. 

About IHS

IHS is the leading source of insight, analytics and expertise in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 140 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to sustainable, profitable growth and employs approximately 8,600 people in 32 countries around the world.

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