Small business hiring patterns and business activity remain steady,
according to insperity survey
Houston--(business wire)--small business owners continue to hire and maintain employees at rates similar to last quarter and are continuing their recent pace of business activity, according to the most recent business confidence survey released today by insperity, inc. (nyse: nsp), a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for america’s best businesses. more than 40 percent of respondents say they are adding employees, the same as in our april survey; 56 percent are maintaining current staffing levels versus 55 percent in april; and 4 percent are laying off employees, slightly below last quarter’s 5 percent. insperity also announced compensation metrics from its base of 5,500 small and medium-sized workforce optimizationtm clients. compared to the 2012 second quarter data, average compensation is up 2.8 percent and bonuses are down 1.2 percent. average commissions received by worksite employees reflected an increase of 6.2 percent versus a 5.2 percent increase in the second quarter of 2012. overtime pay is still low at 9.5 percent of regular pay, below the 10 percent level that generally indicates a need for additional employees, but up slightly from 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2012. in the survey, 72 percent of respondents said they are either meeting or exceeding their 2013 performance plans, down slightly from 74 percent in the last survey; meanwhile, 28 percent report that they are doing worse than expected, unchanged from the response in april. concerning the timing of an economic rebound, 34 percent think one is currently in process versus 28 percent in april; 27 percent expect a rebound in the fourth quarter or later; and 38 percent said they are unsure, falling below the 40 percent mark for the first time in over a year. “while many business owners continue to add workers and anticipate sales increases through year-end, the economic uncertainty of the last few years is becoming a regular part of forming and executing business plans,” said paul j. sarvadi, insperity chairman and chief executive officer. “in facing this challenge, entrepreneurs are combining economic flexibility with strategic activity to meet current marketplace demands.” the overall economy still leads the list of short-term concerns of business owners, but at 50 percent compared to 62 percent in april and 72 percent last october. rising health care costs were second on the list at 49 percent, and government health care reform fell to third at 43 percent from 51 percent last april, followed by hiring the right people, at 39 percent. for the list of longer-term concerns, 60 percent indicated they are either very concerned or have elevated concerns about government expansion and its effect on business; potential tax increases ranked second at 56 percent; the federal deficit and the total national debt was third at 55 percent; and the economy remained in fourth place, decreasing to 46 percent from 50 percent in april and 66 percent last october. when asked about their pipelines for new business through 2013, 55 percent of survey respondents expect sales to increase, down from 59 percent in april; 29 percent anticipate no change versus 28 percent last quarter; 8 percent again predict decreasing sales and 9 percent are unsure, up from 7 percent in the previous survey. the survey results show that 58 percent of participants expect to maintain employee compensation at current levels through 2013, versus 59 percent in april; 29 percent plan increases, up from 26 percent last quarter; 2 percent expect decreases; and 12 percent are unsure. concerning their current profit-generating activities, 59 percent list selling new accounts, and 56 percent cite increased service to existing clients. this was followed by 40 percent saying they were adding new services or products, and 27 percent listing negotiating with vendors. insperity conducted the survey july 9-11, 2013, of more than nearly 5,000 chief executive officers, chief financial officers and other executives in a variety of industries at its more than 5,500 client companies throughout the united states. the overall sampling error of the national survey is +/- 4.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. insperity, a trusted advisor to america’s best businesses for more than 27 years, provides an array of human resources and business solutions designed to help improve business performance. insperity® business performance advisors offer the most comprehensive suite of products and services available in the marketplace. insperity delivers administrative relief, better benefits, reduced liabilities and a systematic way to improve productivity through its premier workforce optimizationtm solution. additional company offerings include human capital management, payroll services, time and attendance, performance management, organizational planning, recruiting services, employment screening, financial services, expense management, retirement services and insurance services. insperity business performance solutions support more than 100,000 businesses with over 2 million employees. with 2012 revenues of $2.2 billion, insperity operates in 57 offices throughout the united states. for more information, visit http://www.insperity.com. the statements contained herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws (section 27a of the securities act of 1933 and section 21e of the securities exchange act of 1934). you can identify such forward-looking statements by the words “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “projects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “likely,” “possibly,” “probably,” “goal,” “opportunity,” “objective,” “target,” “assume,” “outlook,” “guidance,” “predicts,” “appears,” “indicator” and similar expressions. forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. in the normal course of business, insperity, inc., in an effort to help keep our stockholders and the public informed about our operations, may from time to time issue such forward-looking statements, either orally or in writing. generally, these statements relate to business plans or strategies, projected or anticipated benefits or other consequences of such plans or strategies, or projections involving anticipated revenues, earnings, unit growth, profit per worksite employee, pricing, operating expenses or other aspects of operating results. we base the forward-looking statements on our expectations, estimates and projections at the time such statements are made. these statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that we cannot predict. in addition, we have based many of these forward-looking statements on assumptions about future events that may prove to be inaccurate. therefore, the actual results of the future events described in such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those stated in such forward-looking statements. among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are: (i) continued effects of the economic recession and general economic conditions; (ii) regulatory and tax developments and possible adverse application of various federal, state and local regulations; (iii) the ability to secure competitive replacement contracts for health insurance and workers’ compensation contracts at expiration of current contracts; (iv) increases in health insurance costs and workers’ compensation rates and underlying claims trends, health care reform, financial solvency of workers’ compensation carriers, other insurers or financial institutions, state unemployment tax rates, liabilities for employee and client actions or payroll-related claims; (v) failure to manage growth of our operations and the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts; (vi) changes in the competitive environment in the peo industry, including the entrance of new competitors and our ability to renew or replace client companies; (vii) our liability for worksite employee payroll, payroll taxes and benefits costs; (viii) our liability for disclosure of sensitive or private information; (ix) our ability to integrate or realize expected returns on our acquisitions; and (x) an adverse final judgment or settlement of claims against insperity. these factors are discussed in further detail in insperity’s filings with the u.s. securities and exchange commission. any of these factors, or a combination of such factors, could materially affect the results of our operations and whether forward-looking statements we make ultimately prove to be accurate. except to the extent otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not undertake any obligation to update our forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
