HC Deb 14 March 1983 vol 39 cc18-9W
Mr. David Atkinson

asked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the number of self-employed people for every year since 1970; and what percentage this constitutes of the labour force.

Mr. Alison

The latest estimates of the numbers of self-employed people in Great Britain, and the proportion they constitute of the employed labour force, for the years 1970 to 1981 are:

Self-employed
Thousands As a percentage of employed labour force
1970 1,933 8.0
1971 1,954 8.2
1972 1,932 8.1
1973 1,969 8.0
1974 1,935 7.9
1975 1,933 7.9
1976 1,888 7.8
1977 1,843 7.6

Thousands As a percentage of employed labour force
1978 1,843 7.5
1979 1,842 7.4
1980 1,950 7.9
1981 2,057 8.7

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