Brussels, 06/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may have been the drivers of economic recovery in 2010, providing more than two-thirds (87.5 million) of all employment opportunities in the private sector in the EU and 58.4% of the total gross value-added, compared to the 43,000 large businesses representing only the 0.2% of the EU businesses, but they still have to operate in choppy economic waters.
The Commission's annual SME report for 2010, published during SME Week, 3-9 October, shows that recovery in 2010 was driven by the SMEs. It notes that, in 2010, SMEs were in the process of recovering from the 2008/2009 recession. Despite the challenging environment, they started to bounce back from the worst of the downturn in 2009. The number of SMEs in the EU remained at the 2009 level of 20.8 million, including 19.2 million micro-firms (those with fewer than 10 employees). Their combined gross value added (GVA) grew by 3.4% in 2010 (estimated growth in 2011 is put at 3.7%) after a fall of 6.4% in 2009. The number of SMEs is expected to rise by 0.9% in 2011 and their gross value-added by 3.9%. The number of SME employees is expected to increase by 0.4% after a two-year slump. It is too early, however, to consider the development as a full-fledged SME recovery as employment by SMEs was still lagging behind. The downward slide in the number of employees that started in 2009 (a fall of 2.7%) slowed down in 2010 to -0.9%, but is still expected to have resulted in a net loss of more than 823,000 SME jobs in the EU. By industrial sector, SMEs dominate in terms of both GVA and employment in construction, wholesale and retail trade, hotel and restaurants and real estate, renting and business activities.
In relation to the assessment of SME performance in 2010, member states may be classified as follows: - the group of countries where SMEs have a positive growth rate in terms of both GVA (gross added value) and employment includes Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Sweden and United Kingdom; - then the group of countries where SMEs have a positive growth rate of GVA but a negative rate of growth of employment, a so-called jobless recovery, includes Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Italy, Cyprus, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland; - and finally the group of countries where SMEs have a negative growth rate in terms of both GVA and employment includes Greece, Ireland, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania.
The Small Business Act (SBA) fact sheets confirm that conditions for SMEs in most EU countries improved over the period 2005-2011. Progress was most marked in improving access to the single market, increasing the responsiveness of public administrations and encouraging entrepreneurship. The only SBA area where conditions worsened was access to finance, the SMEs' Achilles heel. The Commission regrets that, of the 588 policy measures implemented by the member states in 2010, only 99 focused on improving access to finance. (EH/transl.rt)