BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With unemployment in October falling to 5%, the lowest level since April 2008, and hourly wages rising at the fastest level since 2009, the economy is showing solid signs of strength. According to the latest results of the CAN Capital Store Front Business Index powered by PYMNTS.com, this economic improvement is having a direct impact on local merchants, with overall national small business growth outpacing US GDP.
The Store Front Business Index measures the growth, wages and employment levels of “Store Front businesses” across the United States by analyzing data from more than 36% of small business establishments, or 3.4 million merchants. The latest Index showed an increase in SMB growth in September at 13.6 percent versus 12.7 percent in August. This growth was driven by regional gains in the Mountain and Southwest regions of the U.S., which increased 4.4 percent and 4.1 percent respectively, as well as by a 6 percent gain in the Building and Contractors and Remodelers segment.
To get a complete first hand understanding of the status of small business, in the United States, the PYMNTS team interviewed small merchants in a local community in the Northeast. The chosen location was selected because it closely resembles the “average” town, meaning the unemployment and income levels were consistent with the average growth across the United States. The interviews are highlighted throughout the index to help expand the understanding of the issues that are directly impacting small businesses right now.
Note to Editors
The Store Front Business Index, powered by
PYMNTS.com provides a quarterly metric to measure the health of a subset
of small businesses in the United States, with a specific emphasis on
“store fronts” or those businesses found in local communities. To help
create the index, PYMNTS devised the methodology, model and the
analytics behind the Index, while CAN Capital provided insights from
their more than 17 years of experience with these types of businesses.
The Index is based on three criteria: growth in new establishments,
wages and employment and tracks approximately 36.7% of the small
business establishments in the US, which is roughly 3.4 million
merchants. The average business employs a little more than 9 people per
location.
The study evaluates the merchants and service providers that are most typically found in urban and suburban areas: eating establishments, professional and personal services, construction, remodeling and repair services, fitness, and a wide variety of retailers.
About CAN Capital
CAN Capital, Inc., established in 1998, is
the pioneer and market share leader in alternative small business
finance, having provided access to over $5 billion in funding to small
businesses. As a technology-powered financial services provider, CAN
Capital uses innovative and proprietary risk models combined with daily
performance data to evaluate business performance and facilitate access
to capital for entrepreneurs in a fast and efficient way. CAN Capital,
an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing company, makes capital available to
businesses through business loans made by WebBank, a Utah chartered
Industrial Bank, member FDIC, and through CAN Capital’s subsidiaries:
Merchant Cash Advances by CAN Capital Merchant Services, Inc., and
business loans by CAN Capital Asset Servicing, Inc. For more
information, please visit: www.cancapital.com.
Follow CAN Capital on Twitter and Facebook.
About PYMNTS.com
PYMNTS.com is reinventing the way in which
companies in payments create and share relevant information about the
initiatives that shape the future of payments and commerce and make
news. This powerful B2B platform is the #1 site for the payments and
broader commerce ecosystem by traffic and the premier source of
information about “what’s next” in payments. C-suite and VP level
executives turn to it daily for these insights, making the PYMNTS.com
audience the most valuable in the industry. It provides an interactive
platform for companies to demonstrate thought leadership, popularize
products and, most importantly, capture the mindshare of global
decision-makers. PYMNTS.com also produces a number of proprietary data
assets and sector trackers, including The Store Front Business Index.
PYMNTS.com, where the best minds and best content meet on the web to
learn “What’s Next” in Payments and Commerce.
