Change in the number, employment and ethno-denomination composition of industrial entrepreneurs in Lviv during the interwar period (according to the censuses of 1921 and 1931)

Abstract

Entrepreneurs made up about a quarter of the burghers involved in the industry of the interwar Lviv. However, a vast majority of them were the owners of small workshops, large entrepreneurs accounted for less than 5% of this social class. But the small and medium-sized businesses dominated among the factories' owners. During the interwar period, the quantity of entrepreneurs decreased among the persons involved in the city's industry. There was also a tendency to reduce the use of the hired labour by them. The employment structure of the Lviv entrepreneurs during the 1920s-1930s did not change significantly, but it varied depending on the size of the share capital. A vast majority of the small artisans were employed in the sewing and haberdashery, food, construction, woodworking and metalworking industries, while the owners of large enterprises invested their capital in the food, printing, mineral, wood and paper industries. From the ethnic and denomination point of view, the Lviv entrepreneurs were dominated by two groups: Poles (Roman Catholics) and Jews, while Ukrainians (Greek Catholics) and the representatives of other nationalities accounted for a small percentage. However, during the years 1921-1931 they showed a rapid growth rate.(original abstract)