Big fall in the number of self-employed people

Big fall in the number of self-employed people
The number of self-employed people in the UK has fallen by 700,000 in the two years since the start of the pandemic, according to new figures from Rest Less.
The self-employed workforce peaked at nearly five million in 2019, but has fallen to 4.3 million this year, its report said. As well as the impact of the pandemic, changes to IR35 led to many contractors who previously classed themselves as self-employed moving on to company payrolls, it said.
Stuart Lewis, founder of Rest Less, said: “The self-employed workforce has gone through a tumultuous couple of years as they first faced the full force of the pandemic shutdown with business drying up overnight for many, as well as sweeping legislation changes around IR35 in April, which brought an end to many previous self-employed contractors providing their services through personal services companies.
“Whilst the number of self-employed workers overall has shrunk by 14% in two years, self-employment remains an attractive option for many workers in their 50s, 60s and beyond, with workers over 50 making up nearly half of the entire self-employed population.”