Informational and analytical assessment of value added formation in the small business sector

Abstract

The article provides an informational and analytical assessment of value added at factor cost in the sector of individual entrepreneurs (sole proprietors) in Ukraine for 2015–2023. Based on data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, the overall dynamics of value added are analyzed, showing growth from UAH 67.0 billion in 2015 to a record UAH 342.3 billion in 2021, followed by a sharp decline to UAH 44.2 billion in 2023 due to the full-scale military invasion. Structural changes are investigated by enterprise size, number of employees, and volume of sales. It has been established that micro-enterprises of sole proprietors accounted for over 90 % of value added in the pre-war period, while their share dropped to 50 % in 2022–2023. A radical transformation of the sectoral structure has been identified: the share of information and telecommunications decreased from 22.8 % in 2021 to 1.1 % in 2023, while wholesale and retail trade increased to 50.1 %. At the sub-sector level, the contribution of computer programming, road freight transport, retail sale of automotive fuel, food production and other activities to the total value added is analyzed. Key trends and structural distortions caused by military actions are determined, and the disproportionate impact of the crisis on the smallest entrepreneurs is established. Directions for further research are substantiated, in particular regarding regional differentiation of losses and predictive modeling of sole proprietor sector recovery.