Small businesses are getting smaller says survey
A QUARTER of small firms in the region fear they will be forced to lay off workers, a survey has found.
The poll by Clifton Asset Management found 28% of small businesses were facing making more redundancies – the highest in the country.
The prediction makes grim reading for the region which has suffered more than most during the credit crunch. Thousands have been laid off in the North East after firms such as Nissan, in Sunderland, and Corus, on Teesside, ran into trouble.
But experts last night said the small survey was not an accurate marker of the economy.
Policy director for the North East Chamber of Commerce, Andrew Sugden said: “It is a small sample so should really come with a health warning. It does reflect the general nervousness in economy, but it would be a mistake to put too much on the actual level of job losses because it’s too small a sample.”
Mr Sugden said the NECC was encouraging people to take advantage of the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG), but the survey found only 2% of firms had received cash funding through the Government scheme.
That point was echoed by regional organiser for the Federation of Small Businesses, David Longstaff who said the Government needed to provide more clarity about who was eligible for the EFGs.
And Mr Longstaff agreed the North East had a much brighter future than the survey suggested.
