Bandar seri begawan: The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, DEPS, Ministry of Finance and Economy has conducted the Economic Census of Enterprises, ECE 2024 starting 1st July until 31 August 2024. The main objective of the ECE 2024 is to collect comprehensive and up-to-date information related to the growth, contribution, composition, and distribution of economic activities carried out by enterprises in the private sector. The data collected will be used for the compilation of national accounts statistics, particularly for the calculation of the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, to determine the latest contribution of the private sector to the country’s economic growth. The DEPS has released the Report of Preliminary Findings of the ECE 2024 which presents preliminary data on size, employment and performance of the private sector businesses in 2023.
According to Radio Television Brunei, among the main preliminary findings are; a total of 93.3 per cent of enterprises fall under the MSME category, compared to 93.4 per cent in 2022. Meanwhile, large enterprises account for 6.7 per cent, compared to 6.6 per cent in 2022. The three largest economic activities were the Wholesale and Retail Trade, followed by Accommodation and Food Services Activities and Professional, Technical, Administrative and Support Services.
Total employment in the private sector increased by 11.5 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year. More locals were entering the private sector workforce, where their number has risen by 6.6 per cent in 2023. Wholesale and Retail Trade was the top employer providing the highest number of job opportunities in the private sector. This was followed by Professional, Technical, Administrative and Support Services, and Construction.
The highest revenue was generated by Manufacturing, followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade Mining and Mining and Quarrying.