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Lifeblood of the economy

THE UK’s small and medium-sized businesses have created three times more jobs over the past five years than larger businesses, according to analysis of the latest ONS data1 commissioned by Santander Business Banking.

While firms employing more than 250 staff added around 650,000 net jobs over the five years from 2013 to 2017 (a four per cent increase), those employing fewer than 250 added 1.7 million (a 14 per cent increase) – underscoring just how central SMEs are to the health of the UK economy and the country’s current record high employment levels.

While larger businesses continue to employ more people in absolute terms – 16.47 million people versus 13.96 million for SMEs – Santander’s analysis suggests SMEs will overtake larger businesses as primary employers by 2030 if the five-year growth trend continues at the same pace.

However, separate research commissioned by Santander Business Banking has found that significant numbers of young people are failing to recognise the significant job opportunities that SMEs offer. Just a third (35 per cent) of Generation Z and Millennials leaving full time education say they wish to work for an SME, while an even smaller proportion, just one in six (18 per cent), want to work for a start-up or micro business.

In contrast, the most popular career aspirations are to work for a large firm (51 per cent), the public sector (51 per cent) or a global multinational (49 per cent).

This is despite nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of Generation Z and Millennials, equal to around five million young adults in the UK, saying they are concerned about their career opportunities on leaving full time education – suggesting that many are potentially discounting the role that SMEs play in the economy.

Sue Douthwaite, Managing Director of Santander Business said: “While there are many great roles available working for large companies across the UK, SMEs remain the lifeblood of the UK economy. There is strong demand from SMEs for staff and we would encourage people to look at the fantastic career opportunities that may be open to them outside of larger firms. As a bank focused on bringing much-needed competition to SME banking, we are supporting thriving SMEs every day who are hiring for brilliant roles across all regions of the UK.”

For more information about the Santander Universities SME Internship Programme please visit www.talent.santander.co.uk

Companies mentioned in this article

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