Small business numbers keep building in the West Midlands
The number of small businesses in the West Midlands is growing faster than anywhere else in the country, new figures show.
Over the last year alone the region has seen more than 37,000 new small businesses started up – that is businesses with less than 50 employees.
At the start of this year there were 446,500 small businesses across the West Midlands. That is up 26 per cent since the depths of the economic downturn in 2010.
It is also a nine per cent increase from the start of last year – the strongest growth of any region in the UK, including London.
Margot James, Small Business Minister and MP for Stourbridge, said: “The West Midlands now has an extra 37,200 small businesses since last year – the biggest proportionate increase in the UK.
"As a former local small business owner myself I’m delighted to see the West Midlands leading the way in driving local growth.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and our Industrial Strategy is building an environment in which they can continue to thrive.”
Nationwide there are now 5,653,400 small businesses across the country, with around 1 million of them in London. That is an increase of 197,000 since last year and a 2.2 million rise on the figures in 2000.
Small business account for more than 99 per cent of all private sector businesses. Along with medium-sized companies, which employ up to 250 people, they employ 16.1 million, accounting for 60 per cent of all private sector employment in the UK, although threequarters of small businesses do not employ anyone other than the owners.
Latest figures from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shows that one in five of all SMEs – small and medium-sized businesses – work in building and construction.
