Whilst reading an article about rising inflation, I stumbled across the headline ‘Self Employment: First choice or last resort?’ and instantly clicked on it. Whilst the article focuses on a woman that at 64 years old decided she was going to move into self employment and was not forced financially to it, there are cases where certain people have been felt the only option available to them was self employment with no certainty of work.

Self employment has been hailed as one of the big stories of the recession with 1 in 7 workers working for themselves, stating flexibility as one of the main benefits.  There has been a notable increase amongst the over 50’s which has seen a 36% increase in self employment in the past 10 years.  Perhaps as an alternative to retirement, they are able to carry on earning but have the flexibility to work less.

On the flip side of choosing self employment, 25 year old Akbar Vindhani, who also featured in the article, felt forced into self employment after three months of unemployment. However, since moving into self employment, he says he has never looked back.

“I think being unemployed was a blessing in disguise. I never thought I’d be my own boss but it’s working out pretty good. Being my own boss gives me much more freedom. You get out what you put in. We’re growing in a steady manner and we hope to grow more rapidly in the near future.”

Did you choose to be self employed or did you feel forced into it? There is a suspicion that some self employed workers are struggling to find enough work or are underemployed but the fact is that self employment has thrived during the downturn and there is hope that these self employed workers may be successful and are able to create jobs.

ICS work in partnership with recruitment agencies providing an umbrella solution and accountancy services to contractors, freelancers and temporary workers throughout the UK. Established in 2002, we have witnessed the growth in this market and are confident it will continue to thrive whilst the UK continues to recover.