THERE are now nearly 100,000 businesses across the county – and that number is growing all the time.
Berkshire LEP has just published its latest update on the area’s economy, the latest trends and employment patterns.
And despite the pandemic, and lockdowns, the number of businesses continues to grow – the Business in Berkshire report shows there are 97,711 businesses, increasing at a rate of 2.7% a year in the 10 years from 2011 to 2021.
Nine in 10 businesses are classed as micro – employing up to nine people – or small – between 10 and 49 employees.
Within Berkshire, the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead local authority area has the largest number of registered businesses, followed by Wokingham and West Berkshire. Bracknell Forest has the fewest registered businesses of the six local authority areas.
Just over a fifth of Berkshire firms operate in the ‘professional, scientific and technical’ industry, with a similar number in the ‘information and communication’ industry.
Berkshire’s higher concentration of firms in both of these sectors than the national average explains a lower fall in remote job postings.
Some sectors have been more resilient than others in Berkshire in recent years, with the life sciences and digital tech industry continuing to thrive.
Industries such as hospitality, tourism and travel suffered during the pandemic and are still in a recovery phase.
Alison Webster, CEO of Berkshire LEP said, “Our Business in Berkshire report allows us to chart the economic health of Berkshire. It’s clear the effects of the pandemic on our local economy continues to challenge the business community.
“The full effects of Covid-19 on the economy of the Berkshire area will not be evident for some time; the same is true for the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
“We are working closely with our Berkshire Local Authorities and other partners and continue to invest in the local business support ecosystem and are delighted to be launching two new fully funded business enhancement support programmes.”
The will be funded by the local authorities using Shared Prosperity Funding, and see the Berkshire Growth Hub provide support to start-ups and high growth businesses ranging from workshops, one-to-one sessions and Masterclasses.
Ms Webster said: “Details will be released in the coming weeks so I would strongly encourage businesses to follow the Growth Hub on socials or subscribe to our newsletter as to not miss out on this opportunity.”
The report can be read at: https://bit.ly/BiB21-22
