Jobs Reports: Small Businesses Continue to Play Vital Role in Job Creation

Washington, D.C. With the October jobs numbers out, and the private sector adding 171,000 jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, it's evident our country is on its way to recovery. As the economy improves, it's also clear businesses are becoming more confident in our ability to rebound. A scientific opinion poll also released in October found most of the country's smallest businesses, those with 10 employees or fewer, are optimistic about the future of their business and the economy.

Additional jobs numbers out this week show small businesses are living up to their reputation as job creators, as well. Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a payroll service that calculates monthly jobs figures and breaks them down by company size, issued a report on Thursday showing 158,000 new jobs were created last month; small businesses were responsible for about half, or 77,000 of those new jobs.

The economy has added private sector jobs for the last 32 straight months and the unemployment rate has decreased to 7.9 percent. Hiring has been steadily picking up over the last 12 months, and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the economy has created an average of 173,000 jobs a month since July.

We still have much to do to strengthen the economy. But October's jobs reports show we are on the right path, and small businesses have played an integral part in that progress. Small businesses create two of every three new jobs in America. When our small businesses do well, everyone does well.