Number of Small Businesses Rising after Years of Decline
The number of small businesses and sole proprietorships increased in 2004 after three years of decline, and continues to rise this year. Their number was up by 1.2% to 47,463 last year, whereas the number of employees increased by 0.7% to 100,620, according to the Chamber of Trade (OZS).
The trend is upbeat, but a lot more has to be done, in particular towards the creation of favourable business conditions, said OZS president Miroslav Klun. Services were the fastest growing segment last year, and the OZS hopes it will continue to grow strongly. Meanwhile, the number of catering facilities dropped significantly, which the OZS believes is due to the fact that few young people opt for a career in catering.
OZS secretary general Viljem Pšeničny said it was becoming increasingly clear that Slovenia is a country of small and medium sized enterprises. "This is not to say that large companies are not important...yet new large companies will not emerge from existing ones, but from the small companies," he said. In the long term, Slovenia has to develop the conditions for self-employment and small businesses, as they have great growth potential
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