The Federation of Small Businesses has released figures showing how calls to their small business hotline have risen by a staggering 214 per cent a the country plunges further into a recession and more small businesses are being forced out of business.  The FSB have claimed that the calls are relating to concerns and issues about employment and redundancies.

The huge rise in calls was witnessed in the last quarter of 2008, and compared to the 27 per cent rise that was felt through the Federation’s phone lines in 2007 the rise is devastatingly huge.  The rise in calls comes as around 8,200 small businesses attempted to seek advice as the state of the country’s economy suffers.

The Federation have claimed that small businesses were suffering just as much as the more publicised larger businesses in the country, which have been stealing the headlines due to their massive redundancy numbers over the past months.  The FSB have gone as far as to announce that a quarter of all British jobs lost will be made up from the small business sector.  Therefore the Federation are continuing their cries to the government for more help and more necessary attention.

The Federation’s national chairman, John Wright, has said, “Small businesses are being hit just as hard as big businesses in these difficult economic times as these worrying figures show. We cannot afford to lose our vibrant small and medium-sized business sector.  We must not forget that small businesses are the engine room of the economy and are actually in a key position to generate new jobs and avoid further redundancies.

“As we officially move into recession we must not forget that small businesses are the engine room of the economy and are actually in a key position to generate new jobs and avoid further redundancies. Small businesses are the sector to help pull us out of the recession and they need all the support they can get to do so. We call on the government to put in place measures to support small businesses, following the key policies we have identified in our Five Point Plan,” continued Wright.

The Five Point Plan that Wright is talking about should see the creation of close to half a million new jobs in the small business sector within the country and would aim to focus on legislation, payroll taxes, part-time work, training and small business opportunities for public sector contracts.

Wright’s calls for action aimed at the government have been backed by the FSB’s Scottish policy convenor, Andy Willox, who has underlined the necessity for the government to act to save the small business sector.

“Small businesses are at the heart of local economies and local communities and there will be no recovery in the country until there is recovery in the small business sector.  Unless the decisive, concrete action advocated by the small business community is taken, the recession will be longer and deeper than need be,” said Willox.

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