People more likely to become self-employed when laid off in recession, study finds

Analysis also found the trend helped to avoid ‘scarring’ effects on the labour force during economic troughs

generic stock man on laptop tech jobs employment worker

People are more likely to enter into self-employment when they are made unemployed during recessions, a new analysis conducted jointly by the Finance Department and the Economic and Social Research Institute has found.

The report, which looks at the determinants of self-employment across the economic cycle, found a strong relationship between the state of the economy and the decision to work for oneself, with those self-employed more likely to do so in times of economic downturn.