Millions join the self-employed working boom
A RECORD number of Britons are self-employed, official figures showed yesterday, with older workers particularly likely to work for themselves.
The flow of workers becoming self-employed has held steady – around 37 per cent began working for themselves in the past five years. The overall total is 4.6 million.
And the number leaving, either to take employment or to quit completely has dived, from 36 per cent in the pre-crash years to 23 per cent after the crisis.
The average employed worker is 40 years old and works 38 hours a week, whereas the average self-employed is 47 and works 40 hours.
Pay among the self-employed has been falling as the number rises – weekly wages are down to an average of £207 in 2012-13, from a peak of £301 in 2008/9.
But economists believe this does not show wages for all self-employed workers is falling. Rather, much of the influx of newly self-employed workers have been in relatively low-paid jobs.
The ONS data show there are currently 167,000 self-employed construction workers, and 166,000 taxi and other drivers.