Establishments with employees

In 2010, the South Central Region had 5,518 establishments with employees, making up 3.8% of all establishments with employees in Alberta.  Of these establishments, 5,329 or 96.6% were small companies with between 1 and 49 employees. Micro-businesses with fewer than five employees have a 56.1% share of the region’s total number of companies and large companies with 50 or more employees have a 3.4% share, compared to the 4.4% Alberta average.

Number of Establishments by Employee Size in 2010: South Central Region and Alberta

Between 2005 and 2010, there was an increase of 4.1% (or 216 companies) in the total number of businesses in the South Central Region and a 4.4% rise (or 223 companies) in the number of small businesses.  By comparison, at the provincial level, the total number of businesses increased by 2.3% and small companies experienced an increase of 3.4% over the same period.

In the South Central Region, 68% of companies with employees were involved in service industries in 2010.  The total number of companies in service industries rose by 2.0% over the past five years, while the goods industry had an 8.8% increase over the same period. 

Utilities and Construction is the largest industry in the region, making up 13.2% of establishments with employees in the South Central Region (the Construction sector accounts for 98% of all companies in this sector).  By comparison, 13.8% of establishments with employees are engaged in the Utilities and Construction industry at the provincial level.  Other large industries are Agriculture and Forestry, and Retail Trade.

Over the past five years, the Utilities and Construction industry also experienced the highest growth in the number of businesses, up 30.3% between 2005 and 2010.  The Mining, Oil and Gas Extraction, Health Care and Social Assistance, and Education industries also had large increases of more than 10% in the number of establishments over the same period.  Transportation and Warehousing registered the largest decline: down 8.4% between 2005 and 2010.  Agriculture and Forestry registered a 7.5% drop over the same period.  Almost all companies in the Agriculture and Forestry industry are agricultural businesses.

Date Updated:
RDP-2342