Table 1
Sample (n) and population (N) for Labour Force Survey data: Non-agricultural solo self-employment
| Quarter, Year | Sample (n) | Population (N) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-employed (n) | Self-employed (N) | |||
| Male | Female | Male | Female | |
| Q2 2003 | 2,125 | 499 | 84, 896 | 20, 632 |
| Q2 2007 | 2, 502 | 475 | 102, 779 | 24, 738 |
| Q2 2011 | 1, 330 | 358 | 99, 501 | 28, 501 |
| Q2 2015 | 1, 196 | 334 | 108, 862 | 30, 983 |
| Q2 2017 | 875 | 263 | 105, 691 | 32, 301 |
| Q2 2019 | 828 | 339 | 114, 074 | 48, 012 |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey, Ireland
Table 2
Active labour force composition Ireland 2003–2017 ALL SECTORS
| Men | Women | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2017 | 2019 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2017 | 2019 | |
| Employer | 7.6 | 7.7 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 5.9 | 2.2 | 2.4 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 2.2 |
| Solo self-employed | 15.0 | 14.3 | 17.3 | 15.2 | 13.6 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.9 |
| Employee | 76.6 | 77.4 | 75.1 | 77.9 | 80.0 | 92.4 | 92.9 | 92.3 | 92.5 | 92.2 |
| Assisting relatives | .8 | .5 | .7 | .7 | .5 | 1.3 | .9 | .8 | .5 | .7 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey Q2 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2017
[ii] Labour Force = in work persons
[iii] Sample weights applied
Table 3
Solo self-employment rates and numbers 2003–2017 NON-AGRICULTURAL SECTORS
| Men | Women | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2017 | 2019 | 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2017 | 2019 | |
| % Self-employed | 9.0 | 9.2 | 11.4 | 10.3 | 9.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.6 |
| Count | 84,896 | 102,779 | 99,501 | 105,691 | 114, 074 | 20,632 | 24,738 | 28,501 | 32, 301 | 48, 012 |
| 100% | 100% | 100% | 100 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | |||
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey Q2 2003 and 2017
[ii] Labour Force = total unemployed and employed persons
[iii] “Participation” – at work persons
[iv] Sample weights applied
Table 4
Demographic characteristics of solo self-employed and wage-and-salaried workers 2019 (%)
| Self-employed | Wage-and-Salaried | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women n=339 | Men n=828 | Women n=6662 | Men n=6286 | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Age | ||||
| 15–19 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 20–29 | 7 | 4 | 20 | 21 |
| 30–39 | 25 | 19 | 27 | 28 |
| 40–49 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
| 50–59 | 25 | 29 | 17 | 17 |
| 60–65 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 5 |
| 65+ | 7 | 9 | 1 | 2 |
| Nationality | ||||
| Irish | 81 | 86 | 84 | 81 |
| EU* | 16 | 12 | 12 | 14 |
| Non-EU | 3 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| Household | ||||
| Not married | 29 | 23 | 44 | 43 |
| Married | 59 | 70 | 49 | 53 |
| Widowed/Divorced | 12 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
| Couple no children | 23 | 22 | 17 | 17 |
| Couple with children | 47 | 55 | 51 | 58 |
| Lone parent | 11 | 6 | 15 | 7 |
| Otherhousehold/single | 18 | 17 | 16 | 17 |
| Children under 15 | 40 | 35 | 40 | 39 |
| Older or adult children | 18 | 25 | 27 | 27 |
| No children | 42 | 39 | 33 | 34 |
| Home owner | 74 | 78 | 71 | 68 |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey 2019
[ii] sample weights applied
Table 5
Human capital and sector characteristics of the solo self-employed and wage-and-salaried workers 2019 (%)
| Self-employed | Wage-and-Salaried | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women n=339 | Men n=828 | Women n=6662 | Men n=6286 | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Education | ||||
| < Lower secondary (JC) | 7 | 20 | 10 | 15 |
| Upper secondary (LC) | 13 | 21 | 22 | 26 |
| Post Leaving Cert/Dip | 20 | 24 | 22 | 19 |
| Degree | 40 | 25 | 31 | 27 |
| Postgraduate/PhD | 20 | 10 | 15 | 13 |
| Occupation | ||||
| Professional/Manager | 73 | 44 | 29 | 27 |
| Skilled clerical/craft | 6 | 33 | 27 | 18 |
| Services/Manual | 18 | 19 | 28 | 28 |
| Other | 3 | 3 | 15 | 26 |
| Sector | ||||
| Industry/manufacturing | 8 | 34 | 9 | 30 |
| Services | 24 | 36 | 32 | 34 |
| Professional/Science/Tech/Finance | 31 | 25 | 15 | 19 |
| Health/Education/Social Work | 16 | 3 | 19 | 11 |
| Other | 20 | 2 | 24 | 6 |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey 2019
[ii] sample weights applied
Table 6
Working arrangements of the solo self-employed and wage-and-salaried workers 2019 (%)
| Self-employed | Wage-and-Salaried | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women n=339 | Men n=828 | Women n=6662 | Men n=6286 | |
| % | % | % | % | |
| Working arrangements | ||||
| Full time | 56 | 88 | 69 | 88 |
| Part-time | 44 | 11 | 31 | 12 |
| Atypical hours | 70 | 74 | 47 | 54 |
| Work from home | 62 | 44 | 14 | 16 |
| Second job | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Reasons for reduced working time | ||||
| Education | 3 | 1 | 18 | 38 |
| Disability | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Caring responsibilities | 34 | 8 | 25 | 4 |
| Personal or family reasons | 38 | 38 | 32 | 9 |
| Wants full time hours | 9 | 20 | 12 | 32 |
| Other | 17 | 29 | 10 | 14 |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey 2019
[ii] sample weights applied
Table 7
Profile of self-employed women: changes over time 2003–2019
| 2003 | 2007 | 2011 | 2017 | 2019 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n499 | n475 | n358 | n263 | n339 | |
| Household | |||||
| Couple no children | 23 | 21 | 30 | 25 | 23 |
| Couple with children | 50 | 62 | 47 | 48 | 47 |
| Lone parent | 7 | 5 | 6 | 12 | 11 |
| Single | 20 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 18 |
| Human Capital | |||||
| Degree level/postgrad education | 54 | 54 | 62 | 61 | 60 |
| Professional/manager | 80 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 73 |
| Work/labour | |||||
| Part-time | 38 | 38 | 42 | 47 | 44 |
| Atypical hours | 73 | 69 | 68 | 61 | 70 |
| Work from home | 61 | 42 | 58 | 47 | 62 |
| Caring reasons for p/t | n/a | 18 | 19 | 41 | 34 |
| Personal/family | n/a | 58 | 38 | 27 | 38 |
| Wants full time hours | n/a | 3 | 15 | 12 | 9 |
| Industry/manufacturing | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Services | 37 | 28 | 31 | 21 | 24 |
| Prof/science/finance | 29 | 31 | 31 | 34 | 31 |
| Health/education/social | 12 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 16 |
| Other sector | 14 | 18 | 18 | 25 | 20 |
[i] Source: Labour Force Survey 2003, 2011, 2017 and 2019
[ii] sample weights applied
[iii] n/a: data not available