Small firms are being hit hard by the “cost of doing business crisis” – with around one in six not fully trading. That’s according to analysis of Office for National Statistics (ONS) data by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), which has called for the Government to provide more help for smaller companies struggling with rising costs.
Around 16% of UK micro-businesses – those with fewer than 10 employees – surveyed between April 19 and May 1 were not fully trading. The poll by the ONS showed the figure was 6% for all businesses with 10 or more employees, and just 3% among those with at least 250 workers.
The survey asked firms to choose which of a range of statements best described their trading status, from “currently fully trading”, “currently partially trading”, “paused trading”, and “permanently ceased trading”. The FSB counted the proportion that didn’t say they were “fully trading” as “not fully trading”.
