Seniors' self-employment

By Sharanjit Uppal

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The self-employed comprise a substantial portion of the employed labour force among seniors. Among those who had a job in 2006, 44.1% of men and 28.6% of women were self-employed.

The majority of self-employed seniors were unincorporated. About two-thirds of self-employed men and three-quarters of self-employed women did not own a separate business entity.

One-third of self-employed men were in primary goods and one-third of self-employed women in consumer services industries. Self-employed seniors were also concentrated in a few occupations. The most frequently reported occupation was farmer or farm manager, accounting for 24.2% of self-employed men and 17.2% of self-employed women.

Senior men and women with higher family income from sources other than individual employment earnings were more likely to be self-employed as opposed to being paid employees.

Seniors who had another self-employed family member were more likely to be self-employed themselves than those who had another family member working as a paid employee.

Immigrants who arrived in the preceding 10 years were less likely to be self-employed than more established immigrants or the Canadian-born.

Those with activity limitations were more likely to be self-employed than senior workers who reported no limitations.