UPDATED: Yorkshire’s ‘economic engine’ has created 40,000 jobs, says BDO report

MID-sized businesses in Yorkshire have created 40,000 jobs over the last year which indicates they will play a major role in helping the UK’s economy to keep growing after Brexit, according to a new report.
Terry Jones of BDOTerry Jones of BDO
Terry Jones of BDO

The study from BDO found that the region’s mid-sized firms created more jobs in the last year than their counterparts in the FTSE 350.

Despite often being “overlooked and undervalued” by the Government, mid-sized businesses in Yorkshire created 40,000 extra jobs in the last year, said BDO.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The total numbers employed by Yorkshire’s mid-sized firms increased by 8 per cent from 514,000 to 554,000 over the last year.

Smaller businesses experienced a 4 per cent increase, creating just under 5,000 jobs, bringing the total number of jobs to just over 117,000, according to BDO.

The 10 FTSE 350 firms in Yorkshire experienced a decrease of 2 per cent, which is a total reduction of 3,500 jobs over the last year. The total number of people employed by FTSE firms in the region now stands at 150,000.

The national story paints a similar picture of growth for the mid-market. In total an additional 500,000 jobs were created by mid-sized businesses last year –an increase of 8 per cent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This compares with smaller businesses, which created 100,000 more jobs, registering a 7 per cent increase. FTSE 350 businesses experienced a reduction in jobs nationally, down by 1.2 per cent, which is a loss of 80,000 jobs.

A BDO spokesman said: “These high-growth, entrepreneurial and ambitious businesses, which BDO calls the UK economic engine, punch well above their weight, accounting for only 0.5 per cent of all UK businesses (29,000) but over one third of UK revenue (£1.3trillion) and almost one in three private sector jobs.”

Yet despite playing such a pivotal role, mid-sized businesses risk being overlooked by policy makers according to BDO’s New Economy report.

The report outlines five key policy areas aimed at boosting the UK “economic engine” post-Brexit. It calls for a radical simplification of the UK tax system and the creation of regional and sector powerhouses. BDO is also calling for measures to tackle the UK skills gap and increase productivity by boosting the annual investment allowance.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Terry Jones, the partner and head of BDO in Yorkshire, said: “Since the 2016 referendum there has been a huge amount of economic and political uncertainty for all UK businesses.

“Despite this backdrop, it is great to see the economic engine continues to create more jobs throughout the UK and not just in London and the South East.

“These high-growth, entrepreneurially spirited businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and warrant significant attention from any post Brexit government.

“We are proud to be a part of, and support the businesses that make up the Northern Powerhouse, and want to see the businesses at the heart of these regional powerhouses thrive.”