WHOLESALE and retail trade, together with real estate and manufacturing, remained the dominant drivers of Jamaica’s micro, small and medium-size enterprise (MSME) sector in 2025, as more businesses entered the formal economy and total sales continued to expand.

According to the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (ESSJ) 2025, the Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Installation of Machinery and Equipment (WRTRIM) industry accounted for 47.5 per cent of all MSME General Consumption Tax (GCT) filings during the year. Real Estate and Business Services followed with 25.4 per cent, while Manufacturing accounted for 6.2 per cent, highlighting the continued concentration of formal MSME activity within these sectors.

The same industries also generating the bulk of MSME revenues saw the WRTRIM industry accounting for the largest share of sales at 50.8 per cent.

“This was followed by Real Estate and Business Services at 22.4 per cent and Manufacturing at 6.7 per cent,” the PIOJ noted.

The improved performance seen last year, the PIOJ said comes as more MSMEs entered the formal economy. In 2025 the total number of enterprises filing GCT returns increased to 10,822 in 2025, up from 9,859 in 2024.

“Filings by micro enterprises recorded the largest increase, rising to 3,985 from 3,260, while filings by small enterprises increased to 3,931 from 3,916 and those by medium-sized enterprises to 2,906 from 2,683,” the survey found.

“MSMEs accounted for 90.3 per cent of firms that filed returns,” it added.

Real sales by GCT-registered MSMEs also continued to grow, increasing three per cent to $413.3 billion from $401.3 billion in 2024. The PIOJ said the expansion was driven primarily by medium-sized enterprises, as sales among micro and small firms declined during the year.

A look across industries saw eight of the 13 sectors recording higher sales, with the largest percentage increases being recorded for Electricity, Water Supply and Waste Management, where sales rose 55.7 per cent, followed by Mining and Quarrying at 41.8 per cent and Construction at 16.5 per cent. In contrast, the Information and Communication sector posted the sharpest decline, as sales in that industry fell by more than 52 per cent.

Though business formalisation activities remained relatively stable in 2025, company registrations on the other hand grew 5 per cent to 5625, even as business name registrations declined by 2.5 per cent to total 17,730.

“Despite the decline in business name registrations, overall registration levels remained high relative to earlier periods, reflecting continued entrepreneurial activity in the economy,” the PIOJ said.

Widely regarded as the backbone of the Jamaican economy, the MSME sector contributes an estimated 40 per cent of gross domestic product and accounts for approximately 70 per cent of employment across the island.

As Government continues to provide support for growth of the sector, last year a number of initiatives including the implementation of the Public Procurement (Set Asides) Order was rolled out to strengthen capacity-building for MSMEs, which also sought to boost their ability to compete for Government contracts. This, while the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC) expanded Phase Two of its MSME Business Roadshow to five parishes — reaching approximately 830 MSMEs with information on financing, business development, export opportunities and other support services.

“In addition, 50 micro and small enterprises also received grant assistance totalling $9.0 million through the Business Pitch Competition component and benefited from capacity-building and business development support aimed at strengthening growth and export readiness,” the PIOJ said.

The institute in an outlook said that as efforts continue to strengthen the resilience of the local MSME sector, it expects to see greater digital adoption, improved access to financing, expanded procurement opportunities and the implementation of a revised MSME and Entrepreneurship Policy beginning in 2026. However, it cautioned that adverse weather events and geopolitical conflicts remain significant risks to the sector’s growth.

“As MSMEs remain vulnerable to these shocks, this may continue to affect business operations and investment decisions for the sector,” the PIOJ warned.