In 10 years, employment in micro and small businesses in Sergipe grew by 112%.

Wellington Amarante, from the Sebrae News Agency - The generation of formal jobs in micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Sergipe grew by 112% between 2000 and 2011, consolidating the sector as the largest employer in the state. During this period, the number of jobs increased from 50,3 to 106,7, representing 52% of the salaried workforce. This information is contained in the Yearbook of Labor for Micro and Small Enterprises, prepared by Sebrae in partnership with the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese).

Job growth in Sergipe's micro and small enterprises (MSEs) even surpassed the national average, which was 81%. Nationwide, seven million jobs were created, raising the total number of jobs in these companies to 15,6 million.

The creation of new jobs was also accompanied by another very positive factor: the increase in wages. The real remuneration of formal employees in micro and small businesses rose from R$623 in 2000 to R$886 in 2011, showing an average increase of 3,3% per year. This result was higher than both the growth in the average real income of all workers in the formal market in Sergipe (2,8% per year) and that of those employed in medium and large companies (2,4% per year).

“These numbers reveal the importance of micro and small businesses to the Sergipe economy. They also serve to show that the development of public policies that favor the sector directly contributes to obtaining good results. The regulation of the General Law for Micro and Small Enterprises and the creation of the figure of the individual micro-entrepreneur were fundamental in this process,” highlights the superintendent of Sebrae in Sergipe, Lauro Vasconcelos.

The Labor Yearbook also revealed that the number of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in Sergipe increased from 20,2 to 32,4 between 2000 and 2011, an average growth of 4,4% per year. MSEs also account for 38,2% of the total wages paid to workers. Of every R$100 allocated to workers in the non-agricultural private sector, approximately R$38, on average, was paid by micro and small businesses.

Sectors

Regarding the sectors of activity that most employ micro and small enterprises (MSEs), Commerce remained the activity with the largest number, accounting for more than half of the total. However, the relative share of commerce fell from 57,8% in 2000 to 54,8% of the total number of micro and small enterprises in 2011. In that year, there were 17,8 MSEs in the segment.

In turn, the Services sector not only remained the second most significant sector in terms of the number of SMEs, but also saw its share increase from 26,4% to 29,2% of the total. The manufacturing sector showed a slight increase in its relative share, rising from 9,9% of the total number of SMEs in 2000 to 10,1% in 2011.

The research also showed that the number of self-employed individuals and employers increased from 221 to 282,7 in 12 years. During this period, men predominated among employers and self-employed individuals, although the participation of women increased. Among employers, the proportion of women fell from 20,3% to 19,5%. In the same period, among self-employed workers, the proportion of women increased from 32,4% to 35,8%.

The Labor Yearbook is based on different sources of information. The objective is to gather a set of data on the profile and dynamics of the small business segment. The research uses information from the Annual Social Information Report (RAIS), an administrative record of the Ministry of Labor and Employment, the National Household Sample Survey (PNAD), from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), the Employment and Unemployment Survey (PED), from DIEESE and the SEADE Foundation.