A leading business support organisation in the South has welcomed official figures showing a dramatic growth in the numbers of people opting for self-employment.
Peter Grant, Chief Executive of WSX Enterprise, said the fact there are now more than 4.5 million self-employed people nationally was evidence of a ‘strong entrepreneurial instinct’.
Data issued today from the Office for National Statistics shows self-employment as a key reason behind the current jobs growth and successively lower unemployment rates.
An accelerating trend in self-employment has seen 337,000 more people deciding to work for themselves between February and April this year compared with the same period last year.
The 4.54 million headline figure represents almost one in seven of the working population, the highest level since records began in 1971.
Mr Grant said: “It is remarkable that the 337,000 rise in self-employed people is almost as much as the increase in full- and part-time employees across the private and public sectors, some 345,000. There are many reasons why someone would want to set up on their own. Many will have done so following redundancy or because they cannot find full-time work with an employer but whatever the circumstances the move to self-employment shows the entrepreneurial spirit in this country is strong.”
Mr Grant added that the growth in self-employment is being mirrored in rising demand for WSX Enterprise services.
The Fareham-based, not-for-profit company delivers a wide range of business support and entrepreneur services including start-up loans, business mentoring, innovation support and business design. Most services are delivered free or heavily subsidised with government and European funding.
“We are finding that all of these services are proving very popular,” Mr Grant said. “It is encouraging that self-employment is clearly on the increase and we and our partner companies will continue working to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs in the South. They will become the employers of tomorrow, so helping to provide jobs for others and stimulating onward economic activity and prosperity.”
