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Employment news a mixed bag for small businesses

Small business employment news is conflicting, with a major payroll company indicating small businesses created fewer jobs during May than in the past while the government reporting unemployment figures were down in April.

 

According to payroll company ADP, 38,000 new jobs were reported by its customers with 49 or fewer employees. That figure represents a decrease from nearly 59,000 new jobs reportedly created in the same four months in 2017. The payroll giant claims new jobs at companies of all sizes fell to 178,000 from a four-month average of nearly 229,000.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that unemployment rates across the country were lower in April 2018 than in April 2017 in 305 of the 388 metropolitan areas polled. Figures were higher in 63 areas and unchanged in 20.

Some companies have said in surveys they want to hire but struggle to find candidates with the right skills. A survey released Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and MetLife showed that 32 percent of the 1,002 small business owners questioned between late March and late April expect to hire.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Ames, Iowa had the nation’s lowest unemployment rate in April 2018 at 1.5 percent. Yuma, Arizona’s unemployment rate of 15.7 percent was the nation’s highest.


 

Tami Kamin Meyer is an Ohio attorney and writer who tweets as @girlwithapen.

 

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