SmallBusinessNewz

More small businesses plan to hire new employees in the second half of 2010, according to a new survey from CareerBulider.

Thirty-two percent of companies with 500 or fewer employees plan to add new employees between July and December. Twenty-one percent will hire full-time, 11 percent will hire part-time and 6 percent will hire contractors or temporary workers.

Among companies with 50 or fewer employees, 24 percent plan to hire in the second half of 2010.

In addition to new jobs being added, new small businesses may be emerging to serve as a primary or secondary source of income.  Among workers who have started a small business in the last year, 96 percent reported that they run a small business in addition to another job. More than one-quarter (26%) of workers who were laid off in the last six months and have not found jobs said they are considering starting their own business instead of finding a new job.

"Historically, it has been the small business sector that has created the most jobs at the end of an economic downturn, allowing the overall job market to bounce back faster," said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America.

 "The intellectual capital that companies were forced to lay off over the last 18-24 months was substantial and it is not surprising that many individuals are using their business skills to create their own opportunities."

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees and account for more than half of nonfarm private gross domestic product.  They have also generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.