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Small Business Profile 2005
A profile of small business in British Columbia
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Table of Contents
Highlights
Preface
1. Small Business Growth
2. Small Business Employment
3. Contribution to the Economy
4. Growth Industries and Specially Defined Sectors
5. Regional Focus
6. Small Business Exporters
Technical Notes
Highlights
- Small Business – In 2004, 98 per cent of all businesses in British Columbia were small businesses. Micro-businesses (those with fewer than five employees) comprised 83 per cent of small businesses.
- Small Business Growth – For the third consecutive year, the number of small businesses operating in the province increased, up 0.5 per cent compared to 2003.
- Employment – Small businesses in British Columbia employed approximately 971,000 people in 2004, accounting for 57 per cent of private sector jobs in the province. Almost 40 per cent of this small business employment was in the form of self-employed individuals working alone.
- Self-Employed – On average, the self-employed tend to be older, are more often men and work longer hours compared to those who work as paid employees. In British Columbia, 35 per cent of the self-employed are women, which is higher than the national average of just under 34 per cent.
- Gross Domestic Product – Approximately 26 per cent of British Columbia's GDP was generated by small business in 2004, the highest ratio of any province.
- High Technology Sector – Approximately 95 per cent of employers in high technology were small businesses in 2004.
- Regional Focus – The Northeast region recorded the highest rate of growth in the province in net new small businesses, expanding at an average rate of 4.3 per cent per year from 1999 to 2004.
- Exports – British Columbia small businesses shipped almost $8.9 billion worth of merchandise to international destinations in 2003, or almost a third of the total value of goods exported from the province.