LET S TALK 22% ARE YOU BEING SERVED? In the past 12 months the service industry accounted for... 76% 80% 72% of businesses of turnover [According to the House of Commons Research briefing] of SMEs find staffing costs a major challenge - up from 14% in 2023 [According to merchantsavvy.co.uk] of employment AGE MATTERS: IN 2024... 49.1% 71.3% of SMEs were less than 5 years old 36 were less than 10 years old [SOURCE: GOV.UK] 11.2% 11.2% were more than 20 years old 48% of employers are expecting the size of their organisation to grow within a year* , 1 in 3 businesses plan to invest more in staff training and development over the next year* COMPILED BY KIA HANSEN. SOURCES: *CBI; **TECH NATION; ***FSB.ORG; †ONS.GOV.UK; ±NATWEST GROUPhttp://merchantsavvy.co.uk http://ONS.GOV.UK http://www.FSB.ORG http://www.GOV.UK