SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard Shows Hiring Down for Second Consecutive Month in 18 of top 35 Metropolitan Statistical Areas

GLENVIEW, Ill., Sept. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- SurePayroll, the online alternative in payroll services, today announced August results for its monthly Small Business Scorecard, which recently expanded to include hiring and wage data for the top 35 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas.

For August 2011, hiring is down from the previous month at 2.6% YTD and paycheck levels remain down at 0.3% YTD. In addition, optimism among small business owners stayed flat at 48% after plummeting to 47% last month from 67% in June. Write-in responses to the SurePayroll Optimism Survey indicated that regardless of whether small business owners were optimistic or pessimistic about economic recovery, they had minimal confidence in the government's ability to stimulate the economy. Numerous respondents felt at the end of the day, it is up to small businesses to generate economic recovery themselves.

SurePayroll President and CEO Michael Alter, a small business advocate who regularly analyzes economic data to provide insights into the small business economy, points to the positive growth in cities such as Orlando and Greensboro– which led the metro data last month as well –and San Antonio. He says that overall, however, the recent figures once again illustrate the trend of flat or decreased hiring for the 11th month in a row.

"With a challenging outlook on the economy, and low confidence in our government's ability to stimulate the economy, it's no surprise that we don't yet see an investment made in hiring," says Michael Alter, president and CEO, SurePayroll. "Business owners need confidence before they can risk the extra head count, and most just don't have it yet."

As the first economic indicator created by a payroll company, the SurePayroll Scorecard has provided a monthly look at national hiring and wage trends since September 2004.  SurePayroll's Scorecard compiles data from over 30,000 small businesses, and exclusively reflects the trends affecting the nation's "micro businesses" – those with an average of eight employees. The full SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, including data for the top 35 MSAs, is available at www.SurePayroll.com/SurePayroll. For more information, please contact Marissa Hermo at [email protected], 212.886.6711.

About SurePayroll

SurePayroll, The Online Alternative, is dedicated to providing a convenient and easy-to-use small business payroll service that keeps business owners in control. Over 30,000 customers rely on SurePayroll to process payroll on demand in as few as two minutes. In addition, SurePayroll offers efficient online solutions for managing 401(k) plans, health insurance, workers' compensation, employee screening and more. For accountants and banking partners, SurePayroll provides private-label and co-branded services that enable them to offer online payroll processing to their small business clients. The company has received numerous prestigious awards for its innovative technology, and outstanding customer service and sales teams, including recognition from PC Magazine, Accounting Today, the American Business Awards and many others. SurePayroll is a wholly owned subsidiary of Paychex. For more information, please visit http://www.SurePayroll.com.

About Paychex

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ: PAYX) is a leading provider of payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small- to medium-sized businesses. The company offers comprehensive payroll services, including payroll processing, payroll tax administration, and employee pay services, including direct deposit, check signing, and Readychex®. Human resource services include 401(k) plan recordkeeping, section 125 plans, a professional employer organization, time and attendance solutions, and other administrative services for business. A variety of business insurance products, including group health and workers' compensation, are made available through Paychex Insurance Agency, Inc. Paychex was founded in 1971. With headquarters in Rochester, New York, the company has more than 100 offices serving approximately 564,000 payroll clients nationwide as of May 31, 2011. For more information about Paychex and our products, visit www.paychex.com.

SOURCE SurePayroll