Welcome to ‘entrepreneur country’

There has been a 60% increase in the number of self-employed workers between 2011 and 2012, government statistics have revealed, as the UK looks set to become an entrepreneur country.

The labour market has certainly taken a battering over the course of the economic downturn, but UK workers are showing their resilience by embracing some entrepreneurial spirit and going it alone. The new trends are likely to increase the amount of people working flexibly, with business centre services likely to come in vogue to cope with the resurgence of self-managed organisations.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed that the number of workers who are self-employed in their main job rose 367,000 between 2008, the start of the economic downturn, and 2012. Most of this increase has occurred in the last couple of years, with a 60% increase in self-employed workers between 2011 and 2012.

The statistics showed that, in 2012, self-employed workers tended to work longer hours than people employed with a firm. In terms of demographics, those who go into self-employment are more likely to be older workers who have picked up several years of experience in an industry before deciding to set up shop alone. The four most common occupations for self-employment were:

• taxi or cab drivers
• ‘other’ construction trades
• carpenters and joiners
• farmers

The highest proportion were concentrated in London, where 18% of workers were registered self-employed compared to 11% in the north-east.

Entrepreneurship and self-employment levels may have been boosted by government initiatives and funding, which have largely been focused on new companies as a way out of the economic downturn. The availability of flexible working conditions is also likely to be an enabler.