According to the June 2009 Small Business Scorecard from SurePayroll, small businesses nationally are hiring but the salaries paid are generally lower.
Except in the West, where hiring remains on a downhill roll falling 1.2% in the first six months of 2009.
An interesting point to keep in mind: small businesses are increasingly using freelancers or independent contractors. That increases their flexibility in managing payroll expense and opens up greater opportunities for freelancers.
From Mike Alter’s analysis of the data:
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The June 2009 data suggest that small business owners continue to increase their reliance on independent contractors.
The economic index we generate to track this trend — the SurePayroll Contractor Index — represents the percentage of employed individuals who are working as independent contractors.
As of the end of June 2009, the Contractor Index now stands at 4.06 percent, up from 4.00 percent at the end of May.
This means that for every 100 workers engaged by small businesses in June, 4.06 are 1099 independent contractors and 95.94 are W-2 employees.
If you are struggling to find a new job, consider marketing yourself as an independent contractor.
Tags: Business, employment, Freelancer, Independent contractor, Marketing, Payroll, small business
