Self-employment rose dramatically last year

Self-employment rose dramatically last year, government statistics revealed last week. The Office for National Statistics report shows that the number of self-employed people rose by 8.9 per cent to 282,000 in the year to September 2003. It says: "The increase was general, affecting men and women, full-time and part-time workers; it was also spread across all regions." Growth in Self-Employment in the UK is available at www.statistics.gov.uk.