Small Business Salaries Slide

Salaries paid by small businesses declined for the 14th straight month, according to SurePayroll's analysis of payroll data for its 15,000 customers nationwide.

SurePayroll is an online payroll service based in Illinois.

Nationally, the average paycheck declined 2.3 percent in May compared with a year ago.

``Most of the new businesses we talk to are not seeing as much new business as they'd like and are facing pricing pressure from rivals that are keeping profits down,'' said Michael Alter, president of SurePayroll.

He adds: ``On average, small businesses have been growing in size in the United States. It's the pace of growth that concerns us. (It) is far short of the performance we witnessed in 2004."

Additionally, after 16 consecutive months of steady increases in small businesses' use of independent contractors, the number decreased in May, SurePayroll's analysis indicated.