Number of companies by employment size

​FOI Ref: FOI/2022/3975

You asked

Please supply company data by employment size - could you please generate the following for 2019 and 2020

1. Number of companies by employment size (<1,000, 1,000-5,000, 5,000-10,000, 10,000+ employees) for each of the following industries:

Automotive 

• Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers

Food, Beverages

• Agriculture, forestry, fishery

• Manufacturer of food

• Manufacturer of beverages

• Manufacture of tobacco products

Chemicals, Pharma

• Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products

• Manufacture of basic pharmaceutical products and pharmaceutical preparations

• Manufacturer of Coke and Refined Petroleum Products

• Manufacturer of rubber and plastic products

Construction

• Manufacturer of other non-metallic mineral products 

• Construction industry (=service)

Paper, Wood, Printing

• Manufacture of wood and of products of wood and cork, except furniture; manufacture of articles of straw and plaiting materials

• Manufacture of paper and paper products

• Printing and reproduction of recorded media

Manufacturing, Commodities

• Manufacture of textiles

• Manufacture of wearing apparel

• Manufacture of leather and related products

• Manufacture of basic metals (incl. iron and steel)

• Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment

• Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products

• Manufacture of electrical equipment

• Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.

• Manufacture of furniture

• Other manufacturing (jewellery, musical instruments, toys)

• Repair and installation of machinery and equipment

• Mining

• Arts, entertainment and recreation

• Other service activities (membership organizations, unions)

Logistics / 3PL

• Land transport and transport via pipelines 

• Transport via pipelines

• Water transport 

• Air transport

• Warehousing and support activities for transportation (incl. Warehousing and storage, cargo)

• Postal and courier activities

Wholesale and retail trade

• Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

• Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

• Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Services and government

• Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities

• Accommodation and food service activities

• Financial and insurance activities 

• Professional, scientific and technical activities (legal and accounting activities, management consultancy activities, advertising and market research)

• Rental and leasing activities (without personal)

• Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

• Education

• Human health and social work activities

• Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies

2. Please also provide for each industry (without employment size cut) total sales (or revenues) and CapEx (gross investment)

We said

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request.

In order to provide you with the data you have requested regarding the number of companies by employment size (<1,000, 1,000-5,000, 5,000-10,000, 10,000+ employees) we would need to create bespoke analysis, which can be provided via our bespoke ad hoc services route. Such services would be subject to legal frameworks, disclosure controls, resources and agreement of costs. If you would like to request this bespoke dataset, please contact idbrdas@ons.gov.uk to discuss your enquiry further. Please note, there may be a charge for this work which would be subject to our charging policy.

As this information is reasonably accessible via another route, even if only accessible on payment, Section 21(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) applies.

For your second question, please find the requested information in the attached spreadsheet.

Please note data is only currently available for 2019. Estimates for 2020 are scheduled for release on the 16 June 2022. As such, this information is considered exempt under Section 22(1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, whereby information is exempt from release if there is a view to publish the information in the future. Furthermore, as a central government department and producer of official statistics, we need to have the freedom to be able to determine our own publication timetables. This is to allow us to deal with the necessary preparation, administration and context of publications. It would be unreasonable to consider disclosure when to do so would undermine our functions.

This exemption is subject to a public interest test. We recognise the desirability of information being freely available and this is considered by ONS when publication schedules are set in accordance with the Code of Practice for Statistics. The need for timely data must be balanced against the practicalities of applying statistical skill and judgement to produce the high quality, assured data needed to inform decision-making. If this balance is incorrectly applied, then we run the risk of decisions being based on inaccurate data which is arguably not in the public interest. This will have an impact on public trust in official statistics in a time when accuracy of official statistics is more important to the public than ever before.

Please see our release calendar for updates on the publication of 2020 data.