New statistics show that self employment in the UK is now at the highest level it has been for the past 40 years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that sole traders, contractors and other self-employed professionals drove the increase in total employment between 2008 and 2014. Part of this was due to the fact that fewer people were moving away from self-employment than in the past.
In 2014, ONS measured 4.6 million people as being in employment and 15 per cent of all these workers were self-employed. This number and the percentage of self-employed workers is the highest seen since records began in 1971.
What's more, this is a 2 per cent increase from 2008 when 13 per cent of all workers were self employed out of 3.9 million people who were working.
Part of the reason for the rise in self-employment was due to the fact that a lot of professionals are choosing to work past the state pension age. Between 2008 and 2014, the number of self-employed workers over the age of 65 has doubled to close to half a million.
Another reason is that the opportunity for professionals to move away from self-employment was limited at the start of the economic downturn as jobs fell and fewer opportunities were available to work as an employee.
Typically, self-employed workers tend to be older than employees, with 43 per cent of the self-employed population beingover 50 years of age compared to 27 per cent of employees. Their hours tend to differ greatly. Compared to employees, those in self-employment are more likely to work more than 45 hours a week or less than nine hours. Thirty-five per cent ofself-employed professionals worked more than 45 hours a week in 2014, compared to 27 per cent of employees.
The self-employment landscape is still largely dominated by men, however the amount of women choosing this way of working is increasing at a faster rate than that of men. In 2014, 32 per cent of self employed workers were women, which is up from 29 per cent in 2009. The most popular areas of self employment for women were hairdressing and care roles.
Overall, the most popular areas to work in for self employed people were construction, followed by taxi driving and agriculture. In 2014, 20 per cent of self employed people worked in the construction industry. However, there has been an increase in management consultants.
Andrew Fahey Commercial Director at Brookson said "Choosing to become self-employed can be rewarding as you have greater freedom to choose your assignments and when you work. Yet it can be tricky for those who are just starting out, with a range of commercial, legal and financial considerations to master, we always recommend seeking expert advice and possibly hiring a contractor accountant to manage your finances for you."
The UK has the third highest percentage rise of self employed workers in the European Union, with 18.8 per cent. Compared to Slovenia who have 22.8 per cent and Estonia who have 20.3 per cent.
I am a chartered tax advisor with a specialism in the freelance contractor sector advising contractors on how to structure their affairs and recruitment businesses and end hirers on the effective…
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