Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, June 2024

New this month

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index now tracks monthly employment numbers at UK small businesses as well as job vacancies — providing the UK’s first and only monthly small business employment index for small businesses. Learn more about the methodology updates powering the new small business jobs index.  

Jump ahead: Employment index | Vacancy index | Key takeaway

Employment index

Small business employment: down by 1,300 jobs

In May, employment for UK small businesses with one to nine employees decreased by 1,300 jobs compared to April. These small businesses now employ 4,283,300 people. Year-over-year, employment is down by 9,100 jobs. 

Monthly employment growth rate: down by 0.03% Compared to April’s small business employment total of 4,284,600 jobs, the monthly decrease in May was 0.03%. Year-over-year, small business employment in the UK is down 0.21%.

Employment by sector: small business employment decreased in 9 sectors

In May, small business employment decreased in nine of the 13 sectors covered by the Index. Construction (SIC F) contracted the fastest, with a monthly decrease of 0.08% and 500 fewer jobs. 

Despite the overall decline, three sectors saw positive employment growth. Finance and insurance (SIC K) grew the fastest, with a monthly growth rate of 0.04%.

Employment by nation: small business employment decreased fastest Wales

In May, small business employment decreased in three of the four UK nations. Wales contracted the fastest, decreasing by 0.16% and 300 jobs. Scotland was the only nation to see employment growth, increasing by 0.09% and 300 added jobs. 

Employment by region: small business employment decreased in five regions of England

In addition to the four UK nations, the Index tracks small business employment in the nine regions of England. Of these, five regions had fewer small business jobs in May (North East, South East, East of England, South West, and North West), one had the same number of jobs (East Midlands), and three had more jobs (West Midlands, London, Yorkshire and the Humber). 

Small business employment contracted the fastest in the North East, down by 0.24% and 300 jobs. Yorkshire and the Humber grew the fastest, with a monthly growth rate of 0.07%, adding 200 small business jobs.

Vacancy Index

Small business job vacancies: down by 5,900

Turning from employment to hiring, the vacancy index shows small businesses with one to nine employees currently have 121,100 job vacancies nationwide—a decrease of 5,900 from April to May. Year-over-year, job vacancies are down by 28,900.

Monthly vacancy growth rate: down by 4.77%

The monthly decrease in small business job vacancies in May was 4.77% below the previous official benchmark of 127,000 published in the Office for National Statistics’ latest vacancy survey.* Year-over-year, small business job vacancies are down 21.32%. This negative trend in vacancies may be due to a softening in the labour market across the UK, as reported by the Office for National Statistics, especially for small businesses.

Vacancies by sector: small business job vacancies decreased in 9 sectors

Nine of the 13 sectors covered by the Index in the UK posted fewer small business job vacancies in May than in April. Transport and storage (SIC H) decreased the fastest, with a monthly decline of 35.13%, posting 2,600 fewer vacancies. At the other end, the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector (SIC R) grew the fastest, with a monthly increase of 32.20%, adding 2,000 job vacancies in May.

Vacancies by nation: small business vacancies fell fastest in England

Small business job vacancies were down in two of the four UK nations in May but up in the other two. England contracted the fastest, declining 5.60% and posting 6,200 fewer job vacancies than in April. Wales saw the fastest growth in May, increasing by 3.57% and posting 100 more job vacancies.

Vacancies by region: small business vacancies fell in all nine regions of England

In England in May, small business vacancies contracted the fastest in the South East, declining 11.20%, with 2,000 fewer job vacancies in May than in April.

Key takeaway

Small business employment peaked in June 2023 and vacancies peaked shortly after in August 2023. Both employment and vacancies trended downward from these peaks until January 2024. Vacancies have continued to decline in the first two quarters of 2024 while employment has flattened out during this period. With these small businesses providing 19% of UK jobs, this is an encouraging sign. Future updates to the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index will tell us if the recent trend is the start of a rebound or not.

More information

Get all the details from the interactive Small Business Index dashboard.

Media inquiries

Media contact details for QuickBooks in the UK can be found here on the QuickBooks UK website.

USA Index

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index is also published monthly in the US. Get the latest small business employment insights for the US here. 

Canada Index

The Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index is also published monthly in Canada. Get the latest small business employment insights for Canada here.

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