Findings Correlation analysis Table 4 reports bivariate correlations and the significance levels of two-sample t-tests comparing mean values of local unemployment rates and local median gross weekly earnings for the self-employed (transitioners) and others. Results are reported for all, and for men and women separately. All of these are correlations are small; however in many cases the differences between the groups are statistically significant. The first row of the table shows that self-employment is statistically significantly lower in localities of higher unemployment. The finding holds for both men and women. For earnings the picture is more complex. Although across the full sample self-employment is higher in localities with higher (lower quartile) earnings, for men there is a weak but statistically significant negative association. Further down in the fifth row of the table, similar correlation patterns for self-employed business owner are found, particular for unemployment. However, self-employed business ownership is statistically significantly lower where lower quartile earnings are higher for both men and for women. But across the combined sample, levels of self-employment would appear to be depressed in localities where the local labour market is weaker, and encouraged where local spending power (earnings) are higher. Weak negative, but significant separate correlations for men and women may suggest that lower levels of pay in the lower part of the paid employment market do raise the attractiveness of “going it alone”. The second and sixth rows of the Table 4 report associations between transitions into self-employment/business ownership and local unemployment and earnings. Higher local unemployment is associated with slightly lower transitions; higher local earnings are
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Table 3: USoc Sample Self-employment Levels and Transition Rates Wave 1 2009-10 Wave 2 2010-11 Wave 3 2011-12 Wave 4 2012-13 Males and females: Self-employment (as % of all employment) 3758 (13.3%) 4046 (13.2%) 3857 (13.8%) 3729 (13.9%) Self-employed business ownership (as % of all employment) 2875 (10.2%) 3138 (10.2%) 2988 (10.7%) 2899 (10.8%) All transitions into self- employment - 477 585 569 All transitions into business ownership - 320 379 395 Transitions from inactivity into self-employment - 251 297 291 Transitions from inactivity into self-employed business ownership - 164 188 194 Males only: Self-employment (as % of all employment) 2580 (18.4%) 2802 (18.3%) 2605 (18.7%) 2513 (18.8%) Self-employed business ownership (as % of all employment) 1976 (14.1%) 2164 (14.1%) 2047 (14.7%) 1937 (14.5%) All transitions into self- employment - 309 346 340 All transitions into business ownership - 207 225 225 Transitions from inactivity into self-employment - 154 171 154 Transitions from inactivity into self-employed business ownership - 98 111 96 Females only: Self-employment (as % of all employment) 1178 (8.3%) 1244 (8.1%) 1252 (8.9%) 1216 (9.1%) Self-employed business ownership (as % of all employment) 899 (6.3%) 974 (6.3%) 941 (6.7%) 962 (7.2%) All transitions into self- employment - 168 239 229 All transitions into business ownership - 133 154 170 Transitions from inactivity into self-employment - 97 126 137 Transitions from inactivity into self-employed business ownership - 66 77 98