SmallBusinessNewz

The UK-based Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has released data indicating that the smallest businesses are the best employers, but are put off from employing staff by the burden of increased regulation. According to the FSB:

The number of sole traders and entrepreneurs who work on their own has increased over the last decade, the report says. At the same time, the number of micro-businesses, those with up to nine employees, has fallen, indicating that the small business sector appears to be actually employing fewer people, even though the sector itself is growing.

The report, entitled Small Businesses in the UK: New perspectives on evidence and policy, shows that only one in five employers feel confident about employment law and many are put off by what they consider to be excessive regulation.

"Small businesses are clearly good employers who look out for their employees, offer them flexible working and are more likely to employ those who were previously unemployed," says John Walker, National Policy Chairman of the FSB. "This report also says that small businesses train unskilled employees on the job, which shows that small firms play an extremely important role in tackling unemployment."

"However, the figures also show that regulation is a real burden for employers who cannot keep up with more and more complex law and red tape. With more and more entrepreneurs appearing to want to go it alone, we are seeing fewer very small companies actually doing what they do well and employing people, which is a real loss to the economy," added Walker.

I would say a lot of this has to do with new media and the resources available to anyone online. Marketing has never been easier for a single person to achieve with the rise of media like blogs and social networks. People are making money online on their own, and often, they can do so without the assistance of employees.