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First findings on the impact of COVID-19 on self-employment in the UK – evidence from the Understanding Society household survey

Published: 11 August 2020

The self-employed accounted for 15% of the UK workforce in 2019 and many of these worked in sectors particularly at risk in this unprecedent crisis (ONS, 2020a). Compared to most other European countries, the level and previous increase in self-employment in the UK makes for an exceptional case (Hatfield, 2015), and this makes the monitoring of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on self-employment particularly important for UK economic and social policy.

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Associated Themes
  • COVID-19
  • Entrepreneurship
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