Value Added per Worker of large firms was higher than that of small and medium firms across all services industries, with the exception of financial- & insurance-related services and real estate & business services. Among small firms, those engaged in transport, storage, information & communications had the highest value added per worker. Financial- & insurance-related services took the top spot for medium and large firms. Accommodation and food & beverage services registered the lowest value added per worker among all services industries for all firm sizes (Table 3).

Profitability of Firms by Size

The average proportion of large firms which were profitable was 82.9 per cent in 2004. In comparison, the proportion of profitable small firms was lower at 72.0 per cent. Among the services industries, the highest proportion (79.4 per cent) of profit-making small firms was recorded by community, social & personal services (Chart 8). Wholesale & retail trade had a high proportion (90.8 per cent) of profitable large firms compared to the other services industries.

Main Business Costs of Firms by Size

The major business costs for small firms among the various services industries were different as the services they engaged in were diverse. Being in the trading business, a significant amount (90.9 per cent) of wholesale & retail trade firms’ operating expenditure were spent on purchases of goods for resale (Table 4a). Accommodation and food & beverage services’ largest expenditure (42.5 per cent) was on purchases of food & beverages.

For small firms engaged in financial- & insurance-related services, the main business cost was interest payable (40.8 per cent), while the top expense item for transport, storage, information & communications firms was charter fees (16.3 per cent).

Remuneration ranked among the top four cost items for all the services industries. Remuneration share for community, social & personal services was the highest at 31.0 per cent. The lowest share (3.4 per cent) was recorded by wholesale & retail trade.

Except for accommodation and food & beverage services, the top four cost items incurred by small and large firms within the same services industries were different for all (Table 4b). Compared to small firms, depreciation and taxes were cost items that were more predominant in large firms due to their larger scale of operations.

The publication on “The Services Sector” containing more detailed statistical tables will be released in 3rd Quarter 2006.

Source:  www.singstat.gov.sg Media Release 31 Aug 2006