National average is also up.
Small business employment in Washington increased in May, according to Intuit’s monthly small business index.
Washington’s 0.35 percent rise was the same as Oregon’s but not as high as Idaho’s (0.41).
Across the country, small business’ hourly employees worked 41 minutes more than during the previous month, and pay increased 0.5 percent. Revenues per business also grew, with real estate, rental and leasing rising the most.
“Looking back to January 2004, we see only seven months when the change in hours worked was larger than 25 minutes,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who works with Intuit to produce the Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes, in a statement. “This is a sign that small businesses are working hard to meet increased demands—and get work done.
“Another sign of stronger small business activity is the hiring rate, which rose at nearly twice the rate of any other month since beginning to rise in September 2009,” Woodward said. “The hiring rate always exceeds the employment increase because hiring reflects replacing workers who leave, as well as added workers.”
