UK / Self-Employment, the fastest growing sector since the Financial Crisis

The number of self-employed people in Britain has shot up by 367,000 since the financial crisis, according to official figures, becoming the fastest growing sector in the labour market and masking a fall in the number of employees, as many were forced to make their own way because of the global downturn.

In recent months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) labour market data has appeared to show resilience in the jobs sector considering the domestic and global economic malaise, with employment hitting levels seen before the financial crisis and unemployment holding at a relatively low rate.

However, the latest ONS release shows that as self-employment soared, the number of employees dwindled by 434,000 in the same period. Employees working for a self-employed person also dropped during this time, down by 66,000.

“Self-employment is normally a very small part of the workforce so the fact that it’s been outstripping employee job growth shows that the UK labour market is far weaker than headlines suggest,” said Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the Trades Union congress.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor from

via UK Self-Employment Growth Since Financial Crisis Masks Employees Fall – IBTimes UK.