Small business owners are in a giving mood this season. More than 60% of small business owners say that they will offer a holiday or year-end bonus to employees this year.
According to the November 2016 SurePayroll Small Business Scorecard, a survey conducted by SurePayroll, an online payroll service provider, this is an increase from two years ago. In 2014, only 52% of small business owners said they were planning to provide additional pay to their workforce. This year, 64% of respondents will give a bonus.
Only 29% of small business owners surveyed said the amount they would give was negatively impacted by macroeconomic events, compared to 36% in 2014.
Small business owners also expressed more optimism about the state of the U.S. economy than a year ago, with 75% saying they’re optimistic compared to 68% last November.
“This appears to be part of a trend we’ve been seeing for a while, as small business owners reported meeting and exceeding their goals financially,” says Andy Roe, general manager for SurePayroll.
Roe adds, “Aside from last month when optimism was fairly low, optimism and more specifically profits have been steady. Now [small business owners are] rewarding their employees accordingly.”
SurePayroll did not provide details of the survey such as the size of the survey pool or whether it was conducted before or after the November 8 elections. They noted that they define a small business as having at least six employees.
