ISSUES
: Business and Trade
1
Chapter 1: Business today
1
Chapter
Business today
Business statistics
By Chris Rhodes
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In 2015, there were 5.4 million businesses in the UK.
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Over 99% of businesses are small or medium sized
businesses – employing 0–249 people.
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5.1million (95%) businesses weremicro-businesses –
employing 0-9 people. Micro-businesses accounted
for 33% of employment and 18% of turnover.
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In London, there were 1,434 businesses per 10,000
resident adults. In the North East there were 629 per
10,000 resident adults.
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The service industries accounted for 74% of
businesses, 79% of employment and 71% of
turnover.
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The manufacturing sector accounted for 5% of
businesses, 10% of employment and 16% of
turnover.
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There were 351,000 business births and 246,000
business deaths in 2014.
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20% of SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises)
are female-led, and inOctober 2015 it was announced
that 26% of FTSE100 board members were female.
Businesses in the UK
In 2015, there were 5.4 million private sector businesses
in the UK, up by 146,000 or 3% since 2014.
Since 2000, the number of businesses in the UK has
increased each year, by 3% on average. In 2015, there
were 1.9 million more businesses than in 2000, an
increase of 55% over the whole period.
The proportion of businesses that employ people
has fallen since 2000 from around a third, to around a
quarter. This decline in the number of employers as a
proportion of all businesses is due to the growth in self-
employment.
The number of sole proprietorships (businesses with no
employees) has grown by more than the number of all
businesses (by 73%compared to 55% for all businesses).
Businesses by size
The usual definition of small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) is any business with fewer than 250
employees. There were 5.4 million SMEs in the UK in
2015, which was over 99% of all businesses.
Micro-businesses have 0–9 employees. There were 5.1
million microbusinesses in the UK in 2015, accounting
for 95% of all businesses.
Although the vast majority of businesses in the UK
employ fewer than ten people, this sort of business
only accounts for 33% of employment and 18%
of turnover. Large businesses, with more than 250
employees, accounted for 0.1% of businesses but 40%
of employment and 53% of turnover.
Businesses by region
In the UK in 2015 there were 1,028 businesses per
10,000 resident adults. In London there were 1,434
businesses per 10,000 residents, whilst in the North
East there were 629 businesses per 10,000 residents.
A third of UK businesses are in London or the South
East (976,000 in London and 878,000 in the South East).
Northern Ireland has 117,000 businesses whilst the
North East has 136,000.
The North East saw a 10% fall in the number of
businesses last year, whilst the UK overall saw a 3%
increase. The West Midlands, the East Midlands
and Northern Ireland also saw falls in their business
population.
Businesses by industry
In 2015 there were 4.0 million businesses in the service
industries, three quarters of all businesses in the UK.
The biggest of the service industries in terms of the
number of businesses was the professional, scientific
and technical industry which accounted for 15% of
businesses. The retail sector accounted for 10% of all
businesses.
Overall, businesses in the service industries accounted
for 79% of employment and 71% of total turnover.
Businesses in the retail sector alone accounted for 19%
of employment and 37% of all turnover in 2015.
Construction sector businesses accounted for 18%
of all businesses, but only 8% of employment and 7%
of turnover. This is explained by the fact that a large
number of construction workers are self-employed,
