SME sector to head employment growth

THE SME sector looks set to be the main driver of employment growth over the next few months, according to ISME, the small firms lobby group.

In its second Quarterly Business Trends survey for this year, published yesterday, ISME claims that the SME sector is showing high levels of positivity when it comes to business confidence, employment and investment — with 36% of small to medium enterprises expecting to increase employment over the coming months and only 8% predicting the need to cut staff levels.

In all, about a fifth of SMEs are more positive about their future prospects than was the case this time last year and just under 50% of those surveyed said they planned to increase investment over the next 12 months.