4 Facts about businesses in south west England

And for those that like the detail and the data... 

Do you know how many businesses there are in south west England? Do you know how many employ staff? And how many staff? Or what sector they are in?

Thanks to National Statistics, who published their latest Business Population Estimates for the UK and Regions 2018 on the 11 October 2018 we can now answer those questions for you.

Private sector businesses are not spread evenly across the UK. The south west has one of the highest business density rates at 1,192 businesses per 10,000 resident adults in the UK, 2^nd only to London (1,563). However, the business landscape is dominated by small companies employing either no, or fewer than 49 staff – and this is more so than across the UK.

There are 546,255 businesses in south west England, of which only 123,475 employ people (22.6%) (other than the owner).

Of those businesses that employ people, only 525 of them are classified as large businesses; that is they employ over 250 people. These 525 large businesses account for 27% of employment in the region. Many of them run graduate schemes – so take a look at our SW Graduate Scheme Directory if you want to know more about who they are and the opportunities they provide. A further 49% of employment is within SMEs.

So if you are looking to work in south west England, then you do need to be looking at employers of all sizes – you really have to consider the amazing opportunities available for careers in SMEs – if you want to stay in the region to work.

And finally a breakdown by employment in sectors in south west England:

A - Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing

B,D,E - Mining & Utilities

C - Manufacturing

F - Construction

G – Wholesale & Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles & Motorcycles

H - Transportation & Storage

I - Accommodation & Food Service Activities

J - Information & Communication

K - Financial & Insurance Activities

L - Real Estate Activities

M - Professional, Scientific & Technical Activities

N - Administrative & Support Service Activities

P - Education

Q - Human Health & Social Work Activities

R - Arts, Entertainment & Recreation

S - Other Service Activities

The sectors accounting for the greatest employment in the region are Wholesale & Retail Trade, followed by Manufacturing and Construction.

So in summary, here are our 4 facts about business in south west England:

1. There are 546,255 businesses in south west England, of which only 123,475 employ people (22.6%).
2. Large businesses account for 27% of employment in the region; 49% of employment is within SMEs; the rest is within non-employing businesses (i.e. owners only).
3. The south west has one of the highest business density rates at 1,192 businesses per 10,000 resident adults in the UK.
4. The sectors accounting for the greatest employment in the region are Wholesale & Retail Trade, followed by Manufacturing and Construction.

For more details

To put all this in context here are the UK data:

Across the UK there were 5.7 million private sector businesses, 99.9% of which were SMEs (small or medium-sized). However, only 1.4 million of those businesses employed people aside from the owners. Total employment in SMEs was 16.3 million; 60% of all private sector employment in the UK. Large businesses account for 0.1% of the business population – that’s only 7,500 businesses in total in this category across the UK, but they do account for the employment of 10.7 million people (that’s 40% of employment).

BUSINESS POPULATION ESTIMATES FOR THE UK AND REGIONS 2018.pdf