The analysis of the national workforce by virtual phone service everreach shows that a fifth of Winchester’s 57,200 workers are now self-employed – the highest proportion of self-starters in the UK, followed by St Albans and Brighton.
The regional breakdown of the country follows a recent IPPR report dubbing Britain the self-employed capital of Western Europe, with two-fifths of all jobs created in the country since 2010 being among those working for themselves. Figures also show that the number of those self-employed has grown by more than 1.5 million in the past 13 years to 4.6 million and currently accounts for more than 15 per cent of the labour force.
Despite its role as the tech startup capital of the country, London has just the fifth highest proportion of self-employed workers in the UK. Dundee has Britain’s lowest proportion of self-employed workers with 92 per cent of its 58,000 workers counted as employees.
Nick Mullen, CEO of Telefonica’s everreach, comments: “The number of self-employed people in the country has hit its highest level this year since comparative records began in 1992, with startups and small businesses accounting for a fifth of the UK’s £3.2billion private sector turnover. At everreach we’re helping hundreds of these ambitious UK small businesses to answer more calls, get more new business opportunities and serve their customers better.”
