Now is ‘not a good time’ to be an employee, it has been claimed, as official figures show an increase in the number of self-employed.
The latest quarterly labour market statistics, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the unemployment rate is unchanged despite more people being in work.
According to John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), ‘this pattern may be a response to the abundance of Eastern European migrants in the UK workforce’.
The ONS figures show that there has been a 2.5% year-on-year increase in the number of self-employed people who work full-time. The figures for part-time self-employed have increased by 4.1% overall.
However, if the figures are broken down by gender, they reveal that women are fuelling the increase in part-time self-employment.
The rate of men who are self-employed on a part-time basis has dipped slightly by 1.5%, compared to an 8.3% increase for women.
The statistics seem to add weight to current arguments that increasing numbers of women want to become their own boss in order to achieve a better work/life balance.
“Overall, this is not a particularly good time to be an employee,” said Philpott. “Pay settlements remain modest despite the recent spike in the cost of living and there are fewer jobs in both manufacturing and the public sector.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
