For the purposes of this report, SMEs are defined as small and medium‑sized enterprises with 10 to 249 employees. Micro firms of less than 10 employees are analysed separately.
Enterprise
An enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units that form an organisational unit producing goods or services, which benefits from a certain degree of autonomy in decision-making, especially for the allocation of its current resources. The report uses "enterprises" and "firms" interchangeably.
Scalers
Scalers are SMEs in the non-financial business sector with 10-249 employees that have achieved an average growth rate of 10% in the previous three (consecutive) years in either employment or turnover.
Scalers in employment
Scalers measured by the number of employees. The definition also includes enterprises that are scalers in turnover (see below) at the same time, unless “scalers in employment only” is specified.
Scalers in turnover
Scalers measured by turnover (operating revenue). The definition also includes enterprises that are scalers in employment, unless “scalers in turnover only” is specified.
Scalers in employment and turnover
Scalers measured simultaneously by the number of employees and turnover. The report refers to scalers in “both” measures when firms achieve an average growth rate of 10% in the three previous years in both employment and turnover.
High-growth scaler
Scalers that achieve an average growth rate of 20% for 3 consecutive years.
Export-driven scalers
Scalers in turnover that achieve more than half of their turnover growth from increased exports during their scaling-up period.
Labour productivity
The amount of value-added per unit of labour input (i.e. employee).
Multi-factor productivity
Ratio of the value of output and the value of inputs (labour costs and the total value of physical capital).
Entrants
Firms born during the three-year period for which the job flows are calculated.
Exiting firms
Firms that close operations in the three years for which the job flows are calculated.
Other firms
All other surviving non-scalers.
Gross job creation
Sum of all positive net employment changes across a group of firms, i.e., the sum of employment gains of all firms with positive employment growth
Gross job destruction
Sum of all negative net employment changes across a group of firms, i.e., the sum (in absolute values) of all employment losses of all firms with negative employment growth.
Net job creation
The difference between gross job creation and gross job destruction.
Ownership
Firms are considered under foreign ownership for the analysis in this report if ultimate control of the firm lies with a firm resident in a different country.
Turnover
The amount of money generated by a company from its operations, excluding non-operational income.
Debt-to-assets
Total liabilities divided by total assets.
Interest costs-to-liabilities
Total amount of interest costs divided by total liabilities
Groups and classifications
Size class
Firms are attributed to the following size classes based on their employment level: 10-49 employees, 50-99 employees, 100-249 employees, and 250+ employees. Micro firms are firms with fewer than 10 employees.
Age class
Firms are classified as young (0-5 years of activity), middle-age (6-10), or mature (11+ years of activity). Young, middle-age, and mature scalers are defined based on their years of activity at the beginning of the three-year growth period.
Sector groupings
Firms provide: i) Advance tradable services; ii) Other tradable services; iii) Non-tradable services; iv) Education, social care, health services; v) Medium-high and high technology manufacturing; vi) Low-tech and medium-low-technology manufacturing & extractive industries; vii) Construction.
