Small business boom in the Midlands
The Midlands has topped an index of small and medium businesses expected to take on new employees in the future. The region also top a table charting turnover change, ahead of London and the South East. The research was carried out by Barclays.
The survey reports that in the Midlands, each small or medium company has on average created an additional five jobs within the last three years and the creation of further jobs is expected next year.
The index, based on a study of 1,000 owner managers, examined outlook on growth, employment generation, investment in training, purchases from local suppliers and innovation.
It also reports that small businesses in the Midlands are supportive of their local business community, obtaining 53 per cent of their supplies from within the region. A total of 42 per cent of the goods and services are also sold outside of the region which brings additional revenue and generates employment.
Ria Barlabas, head of local business for Barclays in the Midlands, believes the research provides further evidence that the contribution of small businesses to the overall economy has never been greater.
He said: “We hear a lot of rhetoric around the importance of small businesses, but this analysis illustrates just what that means on the ground.
“Small businesses have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the resilience of local regions amid unstable economic conditions, the credit crunch and public sector cutbacks. They are without question the ones driving growth and creating jobs in every city, town and village in the UK.”
