Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Index, November 2024

Small business employment: down by 1,900 jobs

Employment at UK small businesses with one to nine employees decreased by 1,900 jobs in October compared to September. These businesses now employ 4,287,700 people—a 0.05% decrease month-over-month. See chart below.

The number of job vacancies at small businesses also declined in October, with 8,100 fewer open positions compared to September—a monthly decline of 6.23%. This leaves 125,900 job vacancies at small businesses throughout the UK. See “job vacancies” tabs in the chart above.

By sector: small business employment declines in all but three sectors

Small business employment increased in three sectors in October but decreased in the other ten. The education sector (SIC P) had the fastest monthly decrease, contracting by 0.24%, with 200 fewer jobs. The health care and social work sector (SIC Q) had the fastest increase, at 0.09%, with 200 additional jobs. 

In the table below, use the green buttons to see the number of jobs or open positions by sector.

Small business job vacancies decreased in 11 out of 13 sectors (see “job vacancies” tab on table above). The construction sector (SIC F) had the fastest monthly decline, at 29.92%, with 300 fewer open positions. The fastest growth was in the finance and insurance sector (SIC K), at 3.71%, with 200 additional open positions.

By nation and region: most areas of the UK had fewer jobs at small businesses in October

Three of the four UK nations had declining small business employment in October. Northern Ireland was the brightspot, as the map below shows, with monthly growth of 0.04%. Scotland had the fastest decline, at 0.19%, with 500 fewer jobs at small businesses. England’s decline was slower, at 0.03%, thanks to strong performance in the North West, where small businesses created 700 jobs (monthly growth of 0.16%). The only other region of England with rising employment at small businesses in October was the East of England.

Use the green buttons on the map below to see the number of jobs or open positions at small businesses by nation and region.

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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