Self-employment, by industry

Most workers in agriculture are self-employed

• Agriculture has the highest rate of self-employment. However, that rate has declined sharply in the last few years, from a peak of 71% in 1997 to 65% in 2003. Farm employment has declined for a combination of reasons, including fewer but larger farms, rising farm productivity and non-farm employment opportunities.
• The professional, scientific and technical services sector, which includes legal, engineering and management consultant firms, accounting businesses, and computer system design companies, also had a high self-employment rate in 2003 (35%). This sector accounted for one-third of total self-employment growth between 1989 and 2003. It also contained the highest number of business owners at 347,000.
• The'other services' sector—which includes automotive, electronic and machinery repair and maintenance services, and personal care and laundry services—had the third highest rate of self-employment in 2003 (32%), closely followed by the construction sector (31%).

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