Paul Martin's Business Update - December 12th

Paul Martin's Business Update - December 12th

The number of people opting to choose the self-employed route rather than being part of an employer’s direct payroll is on the rise. In fact, the number of people entering this segment of the working population is growing faster than the number of people taking paid work.

These findings are contained in a report prepared by the economists at ScotiaBank. They note that 2.7 million Canadians are now self-employed and that pool is growing at a rate of 1.7 per cent. They now account for 15 per cent of the workforce or roughly one-in-six working people.

The most likely person to enter this pool is over the age of 65. Nearly two-thirds of the total owns an unincorporated business and the bulk of these people do not have employees.

There was a time when women were joining the ranks of the self-employed at a higher than average rate but that has now levelled, accounting for roughly one-third of all individuals who consider themselves self-employed. A key reason for the growth in this segment is the desire to control their own schedules.

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