Enterprise size class transition in Canada

This paper seeks to investigate enterprise dynamics in terms of employment in Canada. The tracking of changes in enterprise size over time can provide a useful overview of the trend in the performance of both the enterprises and the economy as a whole.

Using the Entrepreneurship Indicators Database for the years 2008 and 2014, this study divides enterprises into nine class sizes based on the number of employees. Then, enterprises that were active in 2008 with one or more employees were tracked to see in which size class they were in 2014. The analysis is based on an approach that consists of building transition matrices using enterprise size classes.