Transition Rates
The following series of graphs illustrate the transition of enterprises from their initial size in 1995 through to 1999. 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 1996-1999. 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.
Only a few small firms graduate into larger size brackets each year
Of those employing 0-5 FTEs in 1995, only a small proportion graduated into larger size brackets, with 97 percent of these firms still employing 0-5 FTES in 1996, 96 percent in 1997, 95 percent in 1998, and 94 percent in 1999.
Figure 16
Firms with 6-9 FTEs are the least likely to remain the same size
Of all enterprises with 6-9 FTEs in 1995, 57 percent remained in the same size bracket through to 1996, 46 percent in 1997, 40 percent in 1998 and only 38 percent in 1999. Of all size groups, those employing 6-9 FTEs in 1995 were least likely to remain the same size through to 1999, suggesting that this size bracket may be a transitional state for firms. Over the period from 1995 to 1999, 24 percent of firms expanded to employ greater than 9 FTEs and 38 percent contracted to employ between 0 and 5 FTEs.
Figure 17
48% of firms with 10-19 FTEs remained the same size...
By 1999, of firms employing between 10 and 19 FTES in 1995, 48 percent remained the same size, 35 percent contracted and 16 percent expanded.
Figure 18
53% of firms with 20-49 FTEs....
3 percent of enterprises with 20-49 FTEs in 1995 grew to have over 100 FTEs in 1999, while 12 percent shrank to have only 0-5 FTEs. Over the period to 1999, 53 percent remained the same size, while 34 percent contracted and 13 percent expanded.
Figure 19
48% of firms with 50-99 FTEs...
48 percent of enterprises employing between 50 and 99 FTEs in 1995 remained in the same size bracket in 1999, while 31 percent contracted and 26 percent expanded.
Figure 20
...and 62% of firms with 100+ FTEs remained the same size
Of those enterprises that employed greater than 100 FTEs in 1995, 62 percent still employed more than 100 in 1999. 2 percent shrank to fall in to each of the categories 0-5, 6-9 and 10-19, while 7 percent employed 20-49 FTEs and 19 percent employed between 50 and 99.
Figure 21
The following table gives the proportion of those firms surviving from 1995 to 199910 that expanded, remained the same size, or contracted over the period.
Table 4. - Transition of Firms 1995-1999
Enterprise Size 1995 | % smaller in 1999 | % same in 1999 | % larger in 1999 |
| 0-5 FTEs | - | 94 | 6 |
| 6-9 FTEs | 38 | 38 | 24 |
| 10-19 FTEs | 35 | 48 | 16 |
| 20-49 FTEs | 34 | 53 | 13 |
| 50-99 FTEs | 31 | 44 | 26 |
| 100+ FTEs | 38 | 62 | - |
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