Entrepreneurs are holding on to staff and not seeking to make redundancies, according to a survey by business and financial adviser Grant Thornton.

The survey shows that cutting jobs was the single biggest issue for 1.6%, while 51.5% expect to maintain headcount and more than half expect an economic upturn in the next two years.

The survey also showed that 75.7% are expecting the recruitment climate to get easier.

Alysoun Stewart, head of entrepreneurial advisory at Grant Thornton, says: “Entrepreneurial businesses tend to be lean operations, so each employee is vital to the running of the business. This segment of the economy has not been responsible for the major job losses we have been seeing as it is holding tight, believing in the value of its people and looking to a brighter future in less than two years’ time.”