UK economic downturn creates self-employed workers

Wednesday, May 5th 2010

The financial situation in Britain over the past two years could have caused a number of people to become their own boss.

According to research from YouGov on behalf of Kensington, 24 per cent of all self-employed workers have gained this status since March 2008 or more recently.

This means some 1.2 million people have been running their own firm since the start of the recession.

Charles Morley, head of sales and product development at Kensington - an intermediary mortgage lender - states this shows businesses cut employee levels during a recession, forcing an increase in self-employment.

"I'm sure we all know somebody who has harboured ambitions of being their own boss and only taken the opportunity to do so when their employer has started to make cut backs," he continues.

And this can have positive effects, because many self-employed Britons have found a certain level of success in their jobs, Mr Morley adds.