Diversity of small business in comparison to larger regional centres

Comparison is made on the proportions of small business across two geographical statistical divisions with similar industry make-ups. The comparison in this case has been made against South Eastern, which runs from the Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku through the City of Kalgoorlie/Boulder to the Shire of Ravensthorpe in the south of WA.

The Pilbara’s largest difference in small business composition in 2007 was evident in the Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing industry, with the Pilbara having 9.8% of small business in these categories compared to South Eastern’s 20.2%.  Mining (Pilbara 2.1% and South Eastern 5.9%) and Construction (Pilbara 24.9%, South Eastern 15.9%) were also industries showing marked differences in proportions of small business.

n.b. Small business classification includes all business with employment size of 19 and under, and employment size of 20-49 in manufacturing.

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