January 5th, 2012 
admin Small businesses created 55,000 jobs in December and increased working hours for employees to indicate that the labor market was strengthening.
Payrolls processing company Intuit said on Wednesday that workers at small businesses saw a rise in their paychecks last month.
The jobs market is showing signs of firming, with the unemployment rate dropping to a 2-1/2-year low of 8.6 percent in November and the first-time applications for state unemployment benefits are hovering near 3-1/2-year lows.
“All of the figures we track show a stronger small business environment in December,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who helped to create the index. “This volatility in the small business indicators parallels, with a slight lag, the increase in volatility in the stock market. All suggest that while a mild recovery is underway, it is fragile,” said Woodward.
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