§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Paymaster General what information is available to his Department on the proportion of the work force in other advanced economies who are classified as self-employed.
§ Mr. LangThe latest available information for most other advanced countries is contained in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's "Labour Force Statistics 1963–83", a copy of which is in the Library. The proportion of people in civilian employment who are classified as self-employed or employers can be obtained from country tables III. It should be noted that for several countries the self-employed figures include the group unpaid family workers, and so are not comparable.
§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Paymaster General if he will list for each year since 1956 the number of people in the United Kingdom classifed as self-employed and the proportion they represented of the total work force.
§ Mr. LangQuarterly estimates of the self employed and working population in the United Kingdom for the dates specified may be found in the following publications, copies of which are in the Library.
Date and Source
March 1956 to March 1959
- British Labour Statistics
- Historical Abstract 1886–1968
- Table 118. (page 220)
June 1959 to December 1964
- Department of Employment Gazette October 1975
- Table 1 (page 1037)
March 1965 to December 1982
- Employment Gazette
- April 1985 Historical Supplement No. 1
- Table 1.1 (page 4)
March 1983 to September 1985
- Employment Gazette
- March/April 1986 (Labour Market Data section)
- Table 1.1 (page S8)
The published information for dates prior to June 1959 was calculated on a different basis from that used for subsequent periods in later publications. Therefore it is not comparable with the more recent information.