Transition Rates
Only a few small firms graduate into larger size brackets each year
The following series of graphs illustrate the transition of enterprises from their initial size in 1995 through to 2001. For example, the first graph shows the transition in size of all firms that employed 0-5 FTEs in 1995, giving the proportion that then fell into each of the six size categories in the years 1996-2001. Five further graphs follow with the same interpretation for firms in each of the other size groups in 1995. Only enterprises still operating in each year are included in the statistics.
Of those employing 0-5 FTEs in 1995, only a small proportion graduated into larger size brackets, with 96 percent of these firms still employing 0-5 FTES in 1996, 95 percent in 1997, 94 percent in 1998 and 1999, 93 percent in 2000 and 92 percent in 2001.
Figure 16: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 0-5 FTEs in 1995
Firms with 6-9 FTEs are the least likely to remain the same size
Of all enterprises with 6-9 FTEs in 1995, 65 percent remained in the same size bracket through to 1996, 54 percent in 1997, 49 percent in 1998, 47 percent in 1999, 44 percent in 2000 and 42 percent in 2001. Of all size groups, those employing 6-9 FTEs in 1995 were least likely to remain the same size through to 2001, suggesting that this size bracket may be a transitional state for firms. Over the period from 1995 to 2001, 23 percent of firms expanded to employ greater than 9 FTEs and 35 percent contracted to employ between 0 and 5 FTEs.
Figure 17: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 6-9 FTEs in 1995
51% of firms with 10-19 FTEs remained the same size...
By 2001, of firms employing between 10 and 19 FTES in 1995, 51 percent remained the same size, 29 percent contracted and 20 percent expanded.
Figure 18: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 10-19 FTEs in 1995
...63% of firms with 20-49 FTEs remained the same size....
1.6 percent of enterprises with 20-49 FTEs in 1995 grew to have over 100 FTEs in 2001, while 5.9 percent shrank to have only 0-5 FTEs. Over the period to 2001, 63 percent remained the same size, while 26 percent contracted and 11 percent expanded.
Figure 19: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 20-49 FTEs in 1995
...50% of firms with 50-99 FTEs remained the same size...
50 percent of enterprises employing between 50 and 99 FTES in 1995 remained in the same size bracket in 2001, while 29 percent contracted and 21 percent expanded.
Figure 20: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 50-99 FTEs in 1995
...and 78% of firms with 100+ FTEs remained the same size.
Of those enterprises that employed greater than 100 FTEs in 1995, 78 percent still employed more than 100 FTEs in 2001. 11 percent contracted to employ 50-99 FTEs, 6 percent to employ 0-5 FTEs, 4 percent to 20-49 FTEs, 1 percent employed 10-19 FTEs, and less than 1 percent in the 6-9 FTEs bracket
Figure 21: Transition Rates - Enterprises with 100+ FTEs in 1995
The following table gives the proportion of those firms surviving from 199512 to 2001 that expanded, remained the same size, or contracted over the period.
Table 4: Transition of Firms 1995-2001
| Enterprise Size 1995 | % smaller in 2001 | % same in 2001 | % larger in 2001 |
|---|
| 0-5 | 0 | 92 | 8 |
| 6-9 | 35 | 42 | 23 |
| 10-19 | 29 | 51 | 20 |
| 20-49 | 26 | 63 | 11 |
| 50-99 | 29 | 50 | 21 |
| 100+ | 22 | 78 | 0 |
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