Does running your own business make you feel independent? Around a quarter of women who were self-employed in 2007 gave ‘increased independence or for a change’ as a major reason for their decision, according to an article published today in the annual Office for National Statistics (ONS) report Regional Trends.

There were differences between areas in the proportion of women giving other reasons. For example, in Yorkshire and The Humber the second most common reason given for becoming self-employed was ‘to achieve better working conditions’. On the other hand, in the South East, family commitments or wanting to work at home was the second most common reason, given by 27 per cent of the women. In Yorkshire and The Humber less than 10 per cent and in Wales around 13 per cent gave this reason.

Women in London are most likely to be working full-time self-employed, with a rate of almost 3 per cent, although full-time self-employment
rates in many regions are very similar. However, when part-time self-employment is also taken into account, overall self-employment
rates vary more widely, from slightly less than three per cent in the North East to more than six per cent in the South East and South West.
The proportion of self-employed women working part-time was highest in the East (59 per cent) and the lowest in the North East (38 per cent).

There were also considerable differences in the types of occupation of self-employed women across the country. On average around 13 per cent
were engaged in professional occupations in the UK, but this was as low as 8 per cent in the East Midlands, half the proportion in London.
Childminding and related activities was the most usual individual occupation for self-employed women: there were around 5 to 7 per cent of
self-employed women working as childminders in most regions, but Northern Ireland had double this rate.

Regional Trends is an annual report which paints a statistical picture of areas within the UK, to assist in understanding the complex relationships between locations and the people who live there. The information gathered aids decision-making at local, national and European level.