Understanding employers
There is no single definition of a business, or of a firm or enterprise, which are often used to mean the same thing. Generally it means a legal unit, person or group of people producing goods or services under their own control and with their own legal identity. A branch or office of a larger organisation is not in itself a business.
There are about 4.7 million private sector enterprises in the UK employing an estimated 22.7 million people with combined estimated annual turnover of £2,800 billion
Size of businesses
A small enterprise is defined as having less than 50 employees, and a medium enterprise as one with at least 50 but less than 250 employees. Large enterprises have 250 or more employees.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) together accounted for 99.9 per cent of all enterprises, 59.2 per cent of private sector employment and 51.5 per cent of private sector turnover. Employment in SMEs is estimated at 13.5 million
Number of businesses, employment and turnover by number of employees, UK private sector, start of 2007
| Business size | Businesses | Employment (thousands) |
Turnover (millions) |
|||||
|
Sole proprietor |
3,460,360 |
3,774 |
£222,382 |
|||||
|
All employers |
1,218,720 |
18,961 |
£2,572,303 |
|||||
|
1-9 |
1,019,295 |
3,764 |
£413,211 |
|||||
|
10-49 |
166,815 |
3,265 |
£409,991 |
|||||
|
50-249 |
26,690 |
2,653 |
£394,707 |
|||||
|
250 or more |
5,915 |
9,279 |
£1,354,395 |
|||||
|
All businesses |
4,679,080 |
22,734 |
£2,794,684 |
|||||
Source: BERR, July 2008
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is about how businesses align their values and behaviour with the expectations and needs of stakeholders - not just customers and investors, but also employees, suppliers, communities, regulators, special interest groups and society as a whole. CSR describes a company's commitment to be accountable to its stakeholders.
Many larger employers have established a department to oversee their corporate social responsibility and this normally deals with their involvement and support of education.
Employment Trends
Employers see a growing demand for graduate-level skills with more than three quarters (78%) expecting an increased demand for high-level leadership and management skills, and two thirds (66%) of employers requiring graduates with technical skills.1
According to the CBI Employment Trends survey, improving education standards remains at the top of firms' lists of concerns: half (51%) of employers are dissatisfied with school leavers' basic skills, and a fifth (23%) with graduates' functional abilities. Eighty-five percent of employers believe that the government's priority must be to ensure young people leave school or collage literate and numerate. Around two thirds of employers are unhappy with school leavers' employability skills, and a quarter with those of graduates. High quality work experience can help students understand these skills and is offered by 70% of firms.2
Latest trends
For ther latest employment and producitivity statistics visit BIS: http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/economics-statistics
1,2 Pulling through: employment trends survey 2008, CBI