(LUXEMBOURG) – In 2021, 98 per cent of the European Union’s 31 million enterprises were micro and small enterprises employing 75.8 million people, or half the total number employed, EU statistics agency Eurostat reports Thursday.
The micro and small enterprises generated 3.3 trillion in value added, representing 35% of the total value added (9.3 trillion).
The 240 000 medium-sized enterprises (50-249 persons employed) represented 0.8% of all enterprises and employed 24.0 million persons, registering a value added of 1.6 trillion (17%).
Even though large enterprises (more than 249 persons employed) represented only 0.2% of the total number of enterprises, they employed more than a third of the business labour force (55.6 million, 36%) and generated almost half (48%) of the value added (4.4 trillion).
According to the data, the industry sector had the biggest turnover in 2021. It generated one-third of the turnover (10.6 trillion, 33%) and employed around one-fifth of the business labour force (33.0 million persons, 21%). However, in the number of enterprises, it was the smallest sector with only 8% (2.4 million) of the total number of enterprises.
With 5.9 million enterprises, the ‘trade’ sector represented 19% of the total number. The 29.5 million persons employed there generated 31% (9.9 trillion) of the total turnover.
The ‘construction’ sector represented 12% of the total number of enterprises but only 6% (1.9 trillion) of the total turnover. This sector had 13.4 million persons employed.
The ‘other services’, including companies working in a variety of services from ‘transportation and storage’ to ‘accommodation and food service activities’, ‘education’, ‘human health and social work activities’ and ‘arts, entertainment and recreation’, account for the highest number of companies, 61% of the total (19.0 million enterprises). And although these enterprises employed almost half the persons (80.2 million, 51%), the turnover was less than one-third (9.8 trillion, 31%).
Structural Business Statistics (SBS)
