LANSING – A new website from the Small Business Association of Michigan tracks hiring expansions by businesses in an effort designed to show that consistent job growth comes from small business.
MichiganJobsInsight.com shows a ticker displaying jobs added by small businesses in the current month, as well as total jobs reported for the year-to-date, breaking the numbers down by geographic category.
“Nobody does a press release when they add three jobs, but that is how it happens,” said Rob Fowler, SBAM president and CEO.
The numbers for the site come from stories written by Issues Media Group and information gleaned from SBAM members. Mr. Fowler said the figures are not scientific data and are not net growth to reflect reductions elsewhere in the economy. But the site will for the first time provide a look at job growth activity in small business in near real time, he said.
“It’s obviously understated,” Fowler said of the job growth numbers. “By how much, I don’t know.”
The state’s economic development efforts historically have been geared toward attracting new businesses to the state or having major existing Michigan businesses substantially expand their operations. The few jobs created by individual small businesses seldom get any attention, Fowler said.
Noting the site showed 599 jobs created this month by Michigan small businesses, Fowler said the state “would roll out the red carpet” if a single company moved to add that many jobs.
Asked what the site would do when the business cycle slows down, Fowler said it would continue. “If it’s a low number, it’s a low number. If it’s a good number, it’s a good number,” he said.
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