Number of non-farm businesses rose 2.7 percent in year

By NZPA

Wednesday 30th October 2002

The number of non-farm businesses increased 2.69 percent in the year to February and is now up 24 percent from five years ago, according to Statistics New Zealand.

As at February 2002, there were 281,339 non-farming businesses with GST turnover over $30,000 per year or more, compared with 273,961 a year earlier.

Those businesses engaged 1.47 million full-time equivalent employees, 3.5 percent up on a year ago.

There was 3 percent growth in large businesses -- employing more than 100 staff -- to 1337 enterprises in the last year, and a 2.7 increase in small units engaging fewer than five staff, to 242,079.

Property and business services had the largest number of enterprises -- 91,584 employing more than 193,000 full time staff.

However, the manufacturing industry was the largest employer with about 247,000 full time staff.

Businesses with at least 1 percent foreign ownership increased by 12 percent in the last five years to 6849, employing about 296,000 staff.

The ranks of sole trader businesses swelled by more than 50,000 during the last five years to 177,961, the largest increase among business types.

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