With more than 201 million workers unemployed in 2017 – an increase of 3.4 million compared to 2016 – enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), play a crucial role in creating decent jobs around the globe.
Between 2003 and 2016, the number of full-time employees within SMEs nearly doubled, with the share of total employment attributable to SMEs rising from 31 per cent to 35 per cent, according to the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook 2017: Sustainable Enterprises and Jobs .
However, in the past year, their contribution to total employment has stagnated. Between 2015 and 2016 the contribution of SMEs to total employment remained virtually unchanged, increasing from 34.6 to 34.8 per cent.
According to the report, private sector enterprises accounted for the bulk of global employment in 2016. These enterprises employed 2.8 billion individuals, which represents 87 per cent of total employment. While permanent full-time employment in SMEs grew more than in larger firms between 2003 and 2008 – on average 4.7 percentage points higher in small and 3.3 percentage points higher in medium-sized enterprises – employment growth premium of SMEs was absent during the period between 2009 and 2014.
“To reverse the recent trend of employment stagnation in SMEs, we need policies to better promote SMEs and a better business environment for all firms, including access to finance for the younger ones,” said Deborah Greenfield, ILO Deputy Director-General for Policy.
In developing economies, SMEs account for 52 per cent of total employment, compared with 34 per cent in emerging economies and 41 per cent in developed economies.
Job dynamics among young firms in terms of full-time permanent employment have also weakened since the global financial crisis, the report says.
