KEY POINTS:
It's time to start celebrating small business heroes as we do sports people, says small business minister Clayton Cosgrove.
His words came at the release of a new survey showing small business sector continues to expand in New Zealand, now accounting for 31 per cent of all employees.
Conducted by Ministry of Economic Development, the survey looked at businesses with fewer than 20 employees - Small and Medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs.
It shows that the number of SMEs increased by 2 per cent between February 2006 and February 2007 and that the total number of people employed by them increased by 18 per cent between 2001 and 2007 to 594,410.
"It is very encouraging to see new companies starting up, and that many small business owners are experiencing enough growth to need to take more people on," said Cosgrove. "The high number of SMEs makes them important to the economy, but it is their potential for growth that makes them vital to the government's economic transformation agenda."
Cosgrove said the figures showed that SMEs were in good health.
"We are not seeing sudden changes in the make-up and performance of SMEs but instead there is steady and sustainable growth. SMEs are the backbone of a vibrant economy and their success directly correlates to the economic wellbeing of our nation."
Consgrove said that since he was minister for both small business and sport, he firmly believed we should be celebrating the successes of business people _ " who keep our economy strong, as we do our sporting heroes."
The report also showed:
- 97 per cent of SME's employ 19 or fewer people.
- 89 per cent of them employ 5 or fewer people.
- SMEs accounted for 31 per cent of all employees.
- HERALD ONLINE
