Self-employment boom strengthens UK labour market
IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self Employed, has responded to the news that the number of self-employed workers in the UK rose by 224,000 to 4.76 million in the three months to July 2016, compared to the previous year.
Lorence Nye, IPSE economic adviser, commented:
“Today’s figures mark a continued trend of individuals making the choice to work for themselves. The number of self-employed workers is soaring, growing almost four times faster than employees, and this is a sign of a long-term structural change in the labour market. There’s little evidence of this trend slowing any time soon, and it appears the uncertainty around Brexit didn’t stop these workers going it alone in the run-up to the referendum.
“Since 2011, the self-employed workforce has grown by 21%, and the fastest growing segment of these workers are those in highly skilled or professional roles. This group alone contributed £109bn to the UK economy in 2015. With independent professionals in higher demand than ever before, that figure is only likely to increase year-on-year.”