Job creation in SMEs - Résumé

In light of the recent economic and financial crisis and its detrimental effects on EU labour markets, both academics and policymakers are paying increasing attention to the role of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in job creation. SMEs, defined by the European Commission (2003) as companies with fewer than 250 employees and turnover of up to €50 million or a balance sheet total of up to €43 million, constitute 99.8% of all businesses in the European non-financial business sector. In 2014, these 22.3 million companies accounted for 67% of total employment and contributed considerably to job growth despite employment in the EU being 1.3 percentage points below the 2008 level.