Hiring Is Up and So Are Salaries

According to the SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, hiring by small businesses was up by 1.8% in May. It was the sixth straight month of hiring growth according to their data. Salaries rose even more -- by 2.7%. Small business salaries in the U.S. now average $32,142.

SurePayroll's President, Michael Alter, is surprised at the growth figures because GDP growth has been "fairly unimpressive. It's an intriguing question. If we are producing less, why is it that businesses are hiring more and how on earth are they able to pay higher salaries? It's a bit like the local weatherman is forecasting a rainy day and you look out the window and there's not a cloud in the sky. All we can say is what we see: small businesses are hiring, so the economy must be doing reasonably well." 

Alter goes on to suggest that the increase in salaries is a sign of a growing labor shortage. If that's the case, expect salaries to continue to climb for some time.

A nod to Dane Carlson who found the Entrepreneur Daily's article on the report.