According to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) students, long-term sick and the disabled are more likely to be employed by small businesses.
The report revealed that each year, small and medium sized companies hire around 1.3m unemployed and disadvantaged people. On the other hand, large firms with more than 250 employees hire fewer than 130,000 on average in these categories.
Speaking following the report: Back to work, the role of small businesses in employment and enterprise, was launched, National Chairman of FSB, John Walker, said:
“Small firms play a unique role in providing the way to employment, especially for disadvantaged groups.
“They have a greater tendency to take on those that would struggle to find a job, those who have not worked for a long time, have little experience or have been sick.”
He added:
“They have also shown resilience in the face of recession, still taking on some 1.3m unemployed people per year. While not all of these will be new jobs, this is nevertheless evidence of the crucial role small firms are playing in our economic recovery.”