SME Study 2018: How many SMEs are there in Switzerland?
The KMU-HSG Institute and the auditing company OBT AG have published the sixth SME study. The latest figures from the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (BfS) were evaluated. The 2018 SME study also focuses on the effects of the Swiss National Bank's lifting of the Swiss franc-euro floor.
The Swiss SME Study 2018, with the figures collected by the BfS in 2015, shows that SMEs continue to dominate the Swiss corporate landscape in terms of numbers. In particular, the number of businesses with fewer than ten employees is enormous. They account for almost 90% of all businesses and employ over 23% of all employees. A deeper look into the smallest firms shows: Although "only" 5% of all employees work in one-person firms, they account for half of all firms.
Not all SMEs are the same
Despite their dominance, it would be wrong to lump all SMEs together. Despite similar company sizes, there are huge differences. For example, the hairdresser, the bakery, the painter or the advertising agency around the corner are just as much SMEs as high-tech global market leaders in medical technology or drone manufacturing. This is why the differences between the sectors are also large, with micro-enterprises operating in every sector and every canton. This is once again a key finding of the SME Study 2018 - in relation to previous studies.
Employee decline in various sectors
2015 was the first year after the Swiss National Bank lifted the Swiss franc-euro floor. What effect did this measure have on SME figures? The 2018 SME study shows: In the short term, the impact on businesses varied and was highly sector-dependent. In particular, sectors such as the watch industry, cheese and pasta manufacturers, and wholesale and retail trade recorded a sharp decline in employees in 2015, which was above average compared with previous years.
Sources: www.obt.ch/kmu-zahlen respectively www.kmu.unisg.ch/kmu-zahlen
