Published as part of the second annual FedEx Great British Export Report 2015, research suggests British SME export activity is helping to reduce the UK's overall trade deficit, which still stands at about £2.8bn.

Research from software company Citrix suggests that a third of small businesses in the UK ("about 1.67m firms") have recruited staff since 2013, as the economic recovery has gathered strength.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week...

The latest Government statistics show that the number of self-employed people in the UK has fallen by 131,000 in the past 12 months.

The perennial problem of late payment for small businesses is getting even worse according to two new reports.

The Government's much-anticipated productivity plan was published last week. But business groups are calling for more to be done on exports and skills.

More than half of the 844,000 home business owners in the UK who have children will spend time away from their business to be with their family over the summer.

Our round-up of other small business stories making the headlines this week...

Many micro-business owners are failing to track their time and aren't billing clients for all the work they do, according to new research.

The latest British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey reveals that UK manufacturing is continuing the decline that was seen in the first quarter of 2015.