MICRO AND SMALL ENTERPRISES IN LEBANON

As mentioned previously, one-employee enterprises have an average of one person per enterprise,category 2-4 enterprises have an average of 2.5 persons, category 5-9 have an average of 6.1 personswhile category 10-49 have an average of 19.4 employee per enterprise. Thus, category 10-49enterprises generate 21.3% of total employment within MSEs, while accounting for only 2.7% of totalenterprises. The major contributor to employment in MSEs is the 2-4 employee category of MSEs,accounting for 46.8% of enterprises and 47.2% of employment. It should be noted that this categoryof MSEs had the lowest growth rates of value-added per enterprise and per worker.Table 32: Employment Generation According to Enterprise SizeSize (no. of employees)1 empl. 2-4 empl 5-9 empl 10-49 empl. TotalNumber ofresponsesAverage number of personsengaged 1.0 2.5 6.1 19.4 2.5 N/ATotal share of workers 18.0% 47.2% 13.6% 21.3% 100.0% 7369Total share of enterprises 44.9% 46.8% 5.6% 2.7% 100.0% 2948Std. Deviation - 0.7 1.2 10.0 3.5 N/ASectoral division of generated employment reveals that 61.5% are in trade, while 13.7% of the jobsare in industry, 10.7% are in hotels and restaurants, while 12.9% are in other sectors. Furthermore,these percentages differ from those at the national level as this survey excludes workers in the publicsector and agriculture, as well as big enterprises that have more than 50 employees.Table 33: Distribution of MSEs According to Workforce Generated per Sector of ActivitiesHotels &Restaurants Others TotalNo ofresponsesIndustry Construction TradeAverage number of personsengaged 3.9 4.7 2.1 5.2 2.5 2.5 N/ATotal share of workers 13.7% 1.2% 61.5% 10.7% 12.9% 100.0% 7369Total share of enterprises 8.8% 0.6% 72.6% 5.1% 12.9% 100.0% 2948Std. Deviation 4.8 7.4 2.6 8.0 3.3 3.5However, in terms of average workers per enterprises by sector, the analysis reveals thatestablishments in the hotel and restaurant sector employ 5.2 workers per enterprise, followed byconstruction at 4.7, industry at 3.9, and trade at 2.1. Thus, increasing the number of enterprisesengaged in hotel & restaurant activities, or industrial activities, is likely to generate more jobs thanincreasing the number in trade and other sectors.III.15 Mixed income and wagesIII.15.1 Mixed incomeMixed income is equivalent to the profits generated by MSEs and is calculated on a monthly basis.As with other parameters of analysis in the context of this study, the level of the mixed income isaffected by gender, sector, size, and location.The study revealed that the average mixed income per owner/manager is $1,486/month. It is higherfor males ($1,522) than females ($1,019). In this context, females retain 61% of what males retainfrom their economic activities. This may be due to the fact that females have to compete more onterms of price in order to establish themselves, whereas older male run enterprises are less likely toresort extensively to competitive prices to ensure their sustainability. In addition, there are othervariables that affect this gender discrepancy, including the fact that males work longer, are higher inthe hierarchy, etc.In terms of sectoral distribution, the highest average monthly mixed income is registered in hotel andrestaurants ($1,740) and trade activities ($1,624), followed by industry ($1,208) and other sectors($892). The dominance of trade in terms of mixed income explains the propensity of Lebaneseentrepreneurs to engage in this activity rather than opting for more challenging and costly alternatives.37