MORE than half a million small businesses were set up in 1997 creating full time jobs for 900,000 people in the UK, according to research.

And the majority of them started here in the south east.

The construction industry is the fastest growing market for new businesses with a massive 40 per cent start up rate for 1997.

Projects like the Bluewater shopping development near Dartford have helped the industry grow although the increase in the housing market has also contributed to the success. There has also been significant growth in the government, administration and community service sector (34 per cent), closely followed by the business and professional division (26 per cent).

Almost the whole country has shared in the growth. Unsurprisingly the biggest increase in new firms was here in the South East (18 per cent), but next up was the north west (14 per cent) and the north (13 per cent). Only Wales reported a fall in the start-up rate (two per cent). Barclays bank head of small business in Dartford and Bexley Bob Chittenden said: "Start up levels in 1997 were stronger than anticipated, possibly reflecting the high levels of consumer spending last year." However, the increase of new small businesses is expected to slow down in 1998.

Mr Chittenden said: "Although the number of mainstream start-ups is expected to continue rising during 1998, Barclays believes it is likely to be at a slower rate than that seen in 1997. While the economy will slow generally, we expect the number of closures to continue falling. As follows their experiences of the recession in the early 1990's, business owners are increasingly prudent and levels of business liquidity remain high. This in turn will lead to a more mature and established stock of businesses."

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