There has been a decline in the number of micro and small enterprises (MSE), in the country.
According to the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 2016, preliminary General Consumption Tax returns show the number of MSE's engaged in business activities as well as total sales fell during the year.
There were 9,671 MSE's, a decline of 1.4 per cent - relative to 2015.
The reduction was due to fewer registered micro and small firms which declined by 1.9 per cent to 6,093 and 0.7 per cent to 3,578 firms, respectively.
As a result, the share of registered MSEs to total registered firms fell from 77.9 per cent to 77 percent.
Among the micro and small enterprises that filed GCT returns, 4,446 were aligned to the Wholesale and Retail Trade industry, followed by Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities with 2,535 firms.
Meanwhile, there was a decline in sales by micro and small enterprises in 2016.
The entities made $44.4 billion in sales which represented 4.7 per cent of income generated by all the companies that filed GCT returns in 2016.
This was down from $46.2 billion and 4.8 per cent of total income in 2015.
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