As consumer demand rose, small business owners increased hiring.
Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced the economy had created 151,000 new jobs in the month of August, building on data from the Paychex IHS Small Business Jobs Index that indicated growth in the small business sector.
Despite historically sluggish growth in August, the economy maintained its strong growth pattern, outpacing last year's gains, and more than doubling the 5-year August average of 71,000. Coupled with the rise in small business job creation over the same period these numbers are representative of a surging post-recession economy that has spurred 78 consecutive months of jobs growth and has driven the unemployment rate down to 4.9%.
The BLS report indicates the most significant growth was experienced in the retail and restaurant sectors, with those industries creating 14,000 and 34,000 jobs respectively. An encouraging development for the small businesses on Main Street that signals increased consumer confidence and spending heading into the holiday shopping season.
The Paychex report indicated the most significant small business jobs growth occurred in East Coast states and cities with the exception of Washington State. Washington State led the nation in small business job growth with Seattle topping the list of metropolitan areas.
With job creation and small business success widely attributed to consumer confidence and spending, it is hard to ignore Seattle's rising minimum wage and the role boosting the wages of the lowest-level earners played in earning them the top spot on the list.