• Research
• 7 Dec 2022
• Joshua Toovey

• The number of disabled self-employed workers has risen by 39 per cent since 2013 to 650,000 individuals.
• The age group that has seen the highest increase amongst the solo self-employed disabled is the 16-29 age band, experiencing an increase of 29 per cent since 2020.
• Almost half (49%) of disabled people (49%) have been self-employed for over 8 years.

Our review of the disabled self-employed sector in 2022 reveals that the number of disabled self-employed workers has risen by 39 per cent since 2013 to 650,000 individuals. For context, this represents a seven per cent increase since last year.

When analysing the demographics of the disabled self-employed, the report found that there are more men (58%) than women (42%). Moreover, the average age of the disabled self-employed is 51 years which is slightly higher than the average age of disabled employees (43 years) and the overall self-employed population (47 years).

Interestingly, the age group that has seen the highest increase amongst the solo self-employed disabled is the 16-29 age band, experiencing an increase of 29 per cent since 2020 (equivalent to 13,000 individuals).

The report also found that the largest proportion of the disabled self-employed work in SOC5 skilled trades occupations (24%), accounting for 156,000 individuals. This is followed by SOC2 professional occupations (107,000) and SOC3 associate professional and technical occupations (105,000).

Moreover, the report looked at the average amount of time that disabled people operate as a self-employed individual. Almost half (49%) of disabled people (49%) have been self-employed for over 8 years. This is followed by a quarter (28%) who have been self-employed for more than four years and a further quarter (28%) who have entered self-employment since 2018.

Read the full report here