Wales large enterprises: 250+ employees
Wales large enterprises: 250+ employees stood at 1,730 Number in 2025, according to StatsWales — Welsh Government open data. It is one of the indicators in the Business population table (Value · Annual), with a complete series running from 2003 to 2025. The complete series with an interactive chart, free to download.
This indicator in the Business population table
| Indicator | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of enterprises | |||||||||||
| Large (250+ employees) | 1,730 | 1,720 | 1,685 | 1,665 | 1,690 | 1,730 | 1,705 | 1,675 | 1,675 | 1,655 | |
| 0 employees | 185,600 | 192,180 | 186,100 | 192,740 | 201,900 | 207,580 | 204,660 | 200,710 | 195,460 | 191,445 |
Understanding wales large enterprises: 250+ employees
Isolating the largest corporate employers operating within Wales, this metric enumerates enterprises that maintain a workforce numbering two hundred and fifty or more staff members. This category captures the apex of the business hierarchy, representing major commercial entities that typically exert substantial influence on regional labour markets and supply chains. By focusing exclusively on the top tier of employment scale, this series excludes the vast population of micro-firms, small businesses, and mid-market operators that populate other breakdown rows.
Reading this series requires recognising that corporate restructuring, mergers, or relocations can cause noticeable percentage shifts due to the small total count of firms in this bracket. Analysts must exercise care when comparing these figures with turnover-based metrics, as high-employment enterprises do not always align perfectly with the highest revenue bands. Historical consistency can be affected by administrative reclassifications of complex corporate groups, making long-term trend analysis more reliable than quarterly or unadjusted period-on-period evaluations.
Frequently asked questions
- What distinguishes this category from other enterprise size bands?
- This category is restricted entirely to enterprises with an active workforce of two hundred and fifty or more employees.
- Why can corporate restructuring impact this series significantly?
- Because the total number of large enterprises is relatively small, individual mergers or relocations alter the count noticeably.
- Do large employment counts always correspond to top turnover tiers?
- Not necessarily, as capital-intensive businesses may employ fewer staff while generating substantial commercial revenue.