Boom in UK self-employment among 50+

The financial crisis coupled with a fundamental shift in attitudes towards work has triggered an unprecedented boom in people opting to become their own boss in the UK.

The number of self-employed workers grew by 367,000 between 2008 and 2012, with the total reaching 4.2 million, the figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.

The fastest growth has been seen in the past two years, driven by the over-50s, who accounted for and increase of 84 per cent.

The growth in self-employment has not been able to  to fully support the jobs market, though, with the total number employed declining by 434,000 to 25 million over the same period.

The figures also serve to underline the extent of a generational divide, with only 5 per cent of workers aged 16 to 24 registered as self-employed as against 37 per cent of those aged over 65.

According to the ONS older workers may find it easier to set up in business due to the experience and skills of their career as also having easier access to start-up funds, possibly from redundancy payments.