Small Businesses Add 68,000 Jobs in February

February 2018 ADP Small Business Report Shows That Small Businesses Added 68,000 Jobs

With 10,000 more jobs than January, the ADP Small Business Report shows private sector small business employment increased by 68,000 jobs in February.

February 2018 ADP Small Business Report

The ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) report is stressing the importance of small businesses in contributing to the overall economy of the country. The data for companies with 49 employees or less is a great indicator of the economic health in the US — which is one of the reasons ADP says it makes the data available to the public for free.

The information in the report gives business owners insight into hiring trends across industries. The data can be used to make informed decisions about growth, funding and hiring.

So how is the Labor Market?

Ahu Yildirmaz, vice president and co-head of the ADP Research Institute, said a press release, “It continues to experience uninterrupted growth.” Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, added, “The job market is red hot and threatens to overheat.  With government spending increases and tax cuts, growth is set to accelerate.”

Small Businesses

Businesses with 1 to 19 employees generated 27,000 of the 68,000 new jobs created in February 2018 while the remaining 41,000 jobs came from companies  with between 20 and 49 employees. Just as in previous months, the biggest job creator was the service industry with 56,000 jobs followed by goods-producing industries creating an estimated 12,000 jobs.

February 2018 ADP Small Business Report Shows That Small Businesses Added 68,000 Jobs

Overall Employment

A total of 235,000 non-farm jobs were created in February. In addition to the 68,000 from small businesses, medium-size businesses with 50 to 499 employees created 97,000 jobs and large businesses with 500 to 1,000 plus employees created another 58,000 jobs.

Once again, the service industry was the clear leader delivering a total of 198,000 across all sectors.

February 2018 ADP Small Business Report Shows That Small Businesses Added 68,000 Jobs

February 2018 ADP National Franchise Report

Franchises also saw higher numbers creating 24,700 new jobs. Franchise restaurants created most of these jobs, about 19,600 in all. Meanwhile, franchises in the auto parts, food retail, business services, accommodations and real estate sectors created the remaining 5,100 jobs.

February 2018 ADP National Franchise Report

The ADP National Employment Report is produced by the ADP Research Institute in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics.

Images: ADP

This article, “Small Businesses Add 68,000 Jobs in February” was first published on Small Business Trends