Crunching the Numbers
Inc. looks at hiring trends, the cost of ink, and sales of trucks and cargo vans.
WHAT'S HOT, WHAT'S NOT
Sales increase for fitness and sports centers, the small-business sector with the strongest growth from 2009 to 2010: +13.62%
Sales decrease for car washes, the small-business sector with the weakest growth from 2009 to 2010: -12.18%
Sageworks
TRENDS
Among people who text, the average number of text messages sent per month:
Men: 555
Women: 716
The Nielsen Company State of the Media 2010
THE WORKPLACE
Area, in square feet, of workspace lost by the average office worker from 1994 to 2010: 15
International Facility Management Association
HIRING
The portion of small businesses hiring in 2010 that said they added fewer workers than they needed: 42%
Reasons for hiring:
Replace an employee who left: 41%
Support growth or expansion plans: 21%
Some other reason: 18%
Don't know: 1%
Revenue or sales has increased: 13%
Economy is getting better: 5%
Tax credit for hiring unemployed workers: 1%
Wells Fargo/Gallup
TAXES
Lowest and highest overall tax burdens for entrepreneurs:
South Dakota: 1st
New Jersey: 50th
Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council
REALITY CHECK
Retail price, per gallon, of black ink in the average printer ink cartridge: $4,371
PC World
THE ECONOMY
Increase in the sales of trucks and cargo vans—considered a useful indicator of small-business activity—in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with a year earlier: 24%
Edmunds.com
