If you're looking for a new job or better pay, do you work for a small business or a large one and who pays better: Big companies or small companies?
A recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has information that could help you strike paycheck gold the next time you're looking for work.
The data shows the average worker makes more money per man-hour laboring for a big company over a smaller one, but if this sounds like advice that may be too good to be true, that's because what's good on paper may not always translate to real world results.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics says the average hourly worker at a company with 500 or more employees earns significantly more than someone at a firm with fewer than 50 workers.
Jacques Lasseigne with the Louisiana Workforce Commission says state findings show a different story.
The Workforce Commission's estimates show paychecks increase at every level until you surpass the 1,000 employee mark.
Still Lasseigne says there are advantages to working with big firms and it all comes down to the add-ons, whether sick leave, a 401k package, health care programs, or other benefits.
"They have extra money. Whatever it is,they have the extra resources to offer an employee a bigger compensation package."
About 873,000 jobs were created in September, but two out of every three were part-time, without those coveted benefits.
Plus, in Shreveport-Bossier, the area's seen bigger names like GM and natural gas producers pull out of the local economy.
"In the old days they would try to get a job at the big company because of the benefits package but now we've seen some large firms leave the area."
The Workforce Commission encourages out-of-work people to take a job not based on the final paycheck. They say what is more important is the fit between employee and company.