Real Estate industry sees sharp decline in self-employed

The real estate industry is one of the industries hardest hit by falling numbers of self-employed, having seen the third-largest decline in the past year.

There are approximately 4.3 million self-employed workers in the UK, contributing around £278 billion to the economy each year. Post-pandemic, the sector suffered from rising costs and financial uncertainty but has since slowly recovered. New data, however, has revealed, year-on-year, self-employment numbers have fallen in all but 3 industries.

Researchers at Dolan Accountancy analysed the latest ONS data to reveal which industries are seeing the biggest changes in self-employment.

The data shows a 3% decrease in self-employed property professionals year-on-year. In total, there were 4,250 self-employed workers in March 2024, compared with 4,373 in the same period before. Just 3 out of the 14 industries reported an increase in self-employed since March 2023.

The number of self-employed workers has fallen 20% in the past year while the number of those working on a fully employed basis has climbed by 16%,

Pre-pandemic levels

Looking at the industries seeing the highest growth, the Agricultural, Forestry and Fishing industry recorded the highest growth in self-employment, increasing by almost a third (28%) since March last year. This is followed by the Public administration & defence sector which has grown 25% in the past year.

The Construction sector has also witnessed a small growth in self-employment, increasing by 5% in the past year. The Construction sector continues to have the highest number of self-employed workers than any other sector, reaching a high of 773 in 2024; the highest since pre-pandemic levels.

When looking at the industries facing a decline in self-employment, the Finance and Insurance sector has seen the largest decline in the past year. Overall, the sector has had a 24% decline in self-employed since March 2023. This is closely followed by the Food and Accommodation sector which has seen a 22% decline.

Industries facing a fall in self-employed workers

Source: Dolan Accountancy

Self-employed workers are a significant part of our economy. The numbers naturally reflect the aftermath of the pandemic but more needs to be done to retain and support the self-employed across all sectors. The self-employed have experienced ongoing challenging financial conditions. With persistent low incomes, and rising costs, these pressures are affecting their wellbeing, and they need to continue to be supported. The new Labour government plan to strengthen rights and protections for self-employed workers, including the right to a written contract, action to tackle late payments, and extending health and safety and blacklisting protections, we would hope to see more support for the self-employed.