Dallas No. 1 for small business employment growth Feb. 2015

DALLAS – Dallas logged its fifth straight month in February as the highest-performing metropolitan area for small business employment growth, according to the Paychex/IHS Small Business Jobs Index.

The index for Dallas in February 2015 was 103.5. Houston rebounded from January to rank No. 2 among metro areas, despite low oil prices. Paychex/IHS analyzed data for the largest 20 metro areas.

Texas ranked No. 2 among the 20 most populated states, with an index reading of 103.2. Indiana was No. 1.

Nationwide, small business employment gained steam in February, rebounding from lower levels in the fall and early winter and growing near late summer’s pace.

The Paychex/IHS index grew in February for the second straight month, up 0.19 percent. For the last 12 months, however, the national index declined 0.31 percent.

“Small business job gains have accelerated in the New Year as the U.S. economy continues to improve,” said James Diffley, chief regional economist at IHS.

Payroll processor Paychex Inc. analyzes employment trends based on real small business payroll data from about 350,000 of its small business clients.