Social enterprises are a significant part of employment in the UK. In 2023, approximately 1.067 million people worked for UK social enterprises, although the estimated range was 993,000 to 1.141 million. The figures below show the scale of employment, where these employers operate, who they employ, and how their workforce practices compare with wider businesses.
Contents
- UK employment scale
- Sectors and regions
- Workforce and leadership
- Job creation and retention
- Pay, flexibility and training
- International benchmarks
UK employment scale
The UK government’s Social enterprise: market trends 2023 estimated that social enterprises represented 6.2% of the UK small-business population. That amounted to approximately 347,000 social enterprises in 2023. The same source estimated that 6.6% of UK small-business employers were social enterprise employers.
The estimated number of social enterprise employers was approximately 96,000, with a reported range of 88,000 to 103,000. By contrast, approximately 251,000 social enterprises had no employees, with an estimated range of 231,000 to 271,000. These two groups describe different organisational structures: an enterprise can have a social purpose without employing paid staff.
The 2023 estimate of 1.067 million people employed by UK social enterprises has a reported range of 993,000 to 1.141 million. The government source also reported that social enterprise employers represented 7.4% of UK SME employers in 2021. Because the 2023 market-trends figures use the DCMS definition and the Longitudinal Small Business Survey, while other figures in this article come from a separate survey, these UK headcounts should not be treated as interchangeable.
| UK measure | Reported figure | Period or reference |
|---|---|---|
| Share of small-business population | 6.2% | 2023 |
| Social enterprises | Approximately 347,000 | 2023 |
| Share of small-business employers | 6.6% | 2023 |
| Social enterprise employers | Approximately 96,000 | 2023; range 88,000–103,000 |
| Social enterprises without employees | Approximately 251,000 | 2023; range 231,000–271,000 |
| People employed | Approximately 1.067 million | 2023; range 993,000–1.141 million |
Source: Social enterprise: market trends 2023. The figures are estimates, and the ranges are retained as reported.
Sectors and regions
Social enterprise employers were distributed across several parts of the UK economy in 2023. Accommodation and food accounted for 15.2% of UK social enterprise employers, making it the largest named sector in the supplied breakdown. Health and social work accounted for 13.9%, while other services accounted for 6.7%.
Education represented 3.6% of social enterprise employers. Arts and entertainment represented 5.5%. These shares describe the composition of social enterprise employers, rather than the proportion of all jobs in each sector.
The regional figures also show a broad footprint. The South East contained 17.0% of UK social enterprise employers in 2023. The North West contained 12.1%, while Wales contained 5.5%. The figures do not provide a complete ranking of every UK nation and region, so the named shares should be read as individual measurements rather than a full regional total.
The combination of service-sector activity and regional spread matters for interpreting employment statistics. A social enterprise employer may operate in hospitality, care, education, arts or another service area, and the workforce conditions associated with those activities may differ. The available figures establish where employers are concentrated, but do not quantify employment totals for each sector or region.
Source: Social enterprise: market trends 2023.
Workforce and leadership
The State of Social Enterprise 2023 survey provides more detail about the people working in and leading UK social enterprises. At least half of the workforce were women in 58% of UK social enterprises with paid employees. The entire workforce were women in 15% of those organisations. Among social enterprises with more than 250 paid employees, at least half of the workforce were women in 82%.
Ethnic representation was measured differently. At least half of staff were from ethnic-minority backgrounds in 10% of UK social enterprises, while all staff were from ethnic-minority backgrounds in 5%. These are organisation-level survey percentages, not estimates of the share of all workers.
Just under 60% of UK social enterprises had at least one staff member with a disability. The comparison figure for UK small businesses employing a disabled person during the previous three years was 51%. The survey also found that 77% of UK social enterprises included at least one person with relevant lived experience on their leadership team.
Leadership teams were at least half female in 59% of UK social enterprises. Taken together, the workforce and leadership measures show several dimensions of representation: women’s share of workforces, ethnic-minority representation, disability inclusion, lived experience and women’s representation in leadership. They should not be combined into one overall diversity percentage because they measure different groups and organisational characteristics.
Source: State of Social Enterprise 2023. Survey percentages describe responding organisations.
Job creation and retention
The 2023 survey indicates a large population of small or non-employing organisations alongside social enterprises that provide substantial employment. No paid employees were reported by 33% of UK social enterprises, compared with 16% across the previous three surveys. Among social enterprises that recruited paid employees, 18% reported no full-time staff.
Geography and deprivation were associated with different employment patterns in the survey. Almost 80% of social enterprises in the most deprived areas had paid employees, compared with 56% in the least deprived areas. At least one full-time position existed in almost 90% of social enterprises in the most deprived areas. At least one temporary paid employee existed in 35% of social enterprises with employees, rising to 42% in the most deprived places.
Workforce change was mixed. Staff teams were reduced by 17% of social enterprises, compared with 12% in 2019. At the same time, paid employees were expected to increase at 47% of social enterprises, compared with 26% of SMEs. The first figures describe reported reductions, while the latter figures describe expectations; they are not measures of the same event.
These findings suggest that employment availability is not uniform across the sector. Some social enterprises have no paid staff, while others employ full-time and temporary workers. The survey’s deprivation comparisons also show that social enterprises in the most deprived areas were more likely than those in the least deprived areas to report paid employees and full-time positions.
Source: State of Social Enterprise 2023.
Pay, flexibility and training
Pay and working practices were prominent features of the 2023 social enterprise survey. The real Living Wage was paid by 84% of UK social enterprises with paid staff, up from 72% in 2021. Turnover increased at 70% of social enterprises paying the real Living Wage, compared with 59% of social enterprises not paying it. These turnover figures are reported outcomes associated with two groups; they do not establish that the pay policy caused the difference.
Some form of flexible working was offered by 95% of social enterprises, up from 83% in 2021. Flexible working hours were offered by 83%, up from 72% in 2021. A four-day week had been implemented by 21% of social enterprises. The measures distinguish between offering some flexibility, offering flexible hours and implementing a four-day week.
Workforce development was also widely reported. Formal or informal staff training was offered by 77% of social enterprises. The comparison figure for wider UK businesses in the stated comparison window was 60%. This comparison uses the survey’s stated measurement window and should not be read as a universal measure of training intensity, hours or spending.
| Workforce practice | Social enterprises | Comparison or earlier measure |
|---|---|---|
| Real Living Wage among organisations with paid staff | 84% | 72% in 2021 |
| Some flexible working | 95% | 83% in 2021 |
| Flexible working hours | 83% | 72% in 2021 |
| Four-day week implemented | 21% | No comparison supplied |
| Formal or informal staff training | 77% | 60% of wider UK businesses |
Source: State of Social Enterprise 2023.
International benchmarks
European Commission figures provide a wider social-economy reference point, but they use different definitions and reference frames from the UK measures. The EU social economy included about 2.8 million enterprises and organisations, equivalent to 10% of all EU businesses. Almost 13.6 million people, or 6.2% of EU employees, worked for EU social economy enterprises in the latest available figures referenced as 2021.
The same European overview reported that social-economy volunteering equalled 5.5 million full-time workers. Across the 27 EU Member States, at least 11.5 million people, or 6.3% of employment, were occupied in the social economy. EU social enterprises employed at least 3.9 million people.
Ireland provides a country-level social-enterprise example. Irish social enterprises employed 84,382 people, equal to 3.7% of the workforce, in 2022. Women represented 69% of Irish social-enterprise workers, and part-time workers represented 47% of the workforce. Irish social enterprises were 57% microenterprises and 35% small enterprises in 2022.
Other international figures use a broader social and solidarity economy scope or a specific institutional category. SSE employment represented 12.1% of total employment in Belgium, 15.3% in Canada and 10.4% in France. These shares are descriptive benchmarks, not a comparable ranking, because country-specific scopes differ. In particular, the Canada measure uses non-profit institutions, while the Ireland measure concerns social-enterprise employment.
Gender composition also varied by country and definition. Women represented 73.8% of Belgian social-economy employment, compared with 49.8% of overall employment. In Canada, women represented 70.3% of non-profit-institution employment, compared with 47.5% overall. These comparisons describe the supplied country measures and should not be substituted for UK workforce statistics.
Source: Studies & Reports – EU Social Economy Gateway. The international figures use country-specific social and solidarity economy scopes; periods are stated as latest available or 2021, with Ireland figures for 2022 where specified.