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ROSELAND, N.J., May 7, 2015 - Small business owners are cautiously optimistic regarding the overall economy despite their continued  concerns about compliance, healthcare costs and overall cash flow issues, according to Small Business Optimism Report by ADP.  

The report shows a hiring pattern among small businesses that supports anticipated growth. In fact, small businesses of all sizes are looking to hire in three key areas important for future growth: sales, operations and service. This confidence is further supported by data published in the ADP Small Business Report® , which reveals that small businesses with fewer than 50 employees added more than one million jobs in 2014, accounting for 44 percent of last year's total U.S job gains.  In addition, since January 2015, small businesses have added approximately 300,000 new jobs-accounting for nearly half (49 percent) of U.S. job gains this year.

"It's clear that small business owners are looking for ways to capitalize on a strengthening economy, and hiring salespeople is a step in the right direction," said John Ayala, president of ADP's Small Business Services division. "The fact that small business owners are also looking to add operational staff shows they feel good about the future prospects for their businesses."

Other findings include:
 

• Nearly half of small business owners believe that industry and economic issues are equally challenging to their organizations. But among those who viewed the economy as more of a hurdle, respondents pointed to contributing factors like low consumer confidence, product demand, tighter consumer credit and spending, and laws and regulations.
• About one in five small companies have experienced unintended expenses in the past 12 months due to non-compliance with government regulations, and more than 40 percent say they don't know how many fines their organization has incurred. The report also revealed that half aren't sure about the impact of such fines to their bottom lines.

With government regulations an ongoing challenge for small businesses, ADP offers the following tips to small businesses to help turn uncertainty into opportunity.

1. Stay the course. Think strategically about investments to improve cash flow, reduce risk and enhance productivity.
2. Invest in good people. Be willing to fill positions with the best people rather than maintaining the status quo.  Also consider investing to train current employees.
3. Take a lesson from bigger companies. Turn to trusted business advisors to better focus energies on strategic initiatives rather than administrative tasks.
4. Cut your compliance risk. Put processes in place to ensure compliance is a priority.  By doing so, you can help eliminate the risk of incurring fines.
5. Keep changing regulations on your radar. Be ready to respond to new regulations that may emerge.

Click here to learn more by downloading the full report.  

* The ADP Small Business Report® is a monthly estimate of private nonfarm employment among companies in the U.S. with 1-49 employees and is a subset of the ADP National Employment Report®.

Research Methodology
The ADP Small Business Optimism Study was conducted in July and August 2014 among 1041 small business owners. The study universe included representative samples of all categories of U.S. enterprises with 1-49 employees, except state/federal government and public education.

About ADP
Employers around the world rely on ADP® (Nasdaq: ADP) for cloud-based solutions and services to help manage their most important asset - their people.  From human resources and payroll to talent management and benefits administration, ADP brings unmatched depth and expertise in helping clients build a better workforce.  A pioneer in Human Capital Management (HCM) and business process outsourcing, ADP serves more than 625,000 clients in more than 100 countries.   ADP.com

The ADP logo, ADP, the ADP Small Business Report, and the ADP National Employment Report are registered trademarks of ADP, LLC.  All other marks are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2015 ADP, LLC.

For more information, contact:
Allyce Hackmann
ADP
(973) 974-3064
Allyce.Hackmann@ADP.com