Patterns of Self-Employment in Israel and the European Union: Findings from the Field
Issue:
Volume 11, Issue 3, September 2022
Pages:
51-62
Received:
14 November 2022
Accepted:
28 December 2022
Published:
10 January 2023
Abstract: Self-employment is a form of employment in which the person's income comes from his independent business activity, and not from work performed as an employee employed by an employer. Unlike an employee receiving a fixed salary from his employer, the self-employed manages his own business or acts in a legal association (such as a partnership). The self-employed business activities may be conducted in a business (office, shop, workshop, etc.), in the home of the self-employed or on the road. In this study, we explore the determinants for entry into self-employment and the emerging trends in the transition into self-employment in the European Union and in Israel over the last few decades. Although the job of the self-employed depends on his skills to develop the occupation in which he chooses to earn a living, and on the market conditions, and despite the greater economic risk associated with an independent status, many workers choose to become self-employed to make a living. In Israel, the emerging trend in self-employment has driven an increase in the participation rate of workers in the workforce. The proportion of self-employed who do not employ workers especially showed a large increase amongst the female population. In the European Union, the number of self-employed who do not employ workers was shown to increase as the age of the self-employed rises. The COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 affected large sectors of the economy with businesses required to close and the education system forced to shut down. A survey conducted in Israel during the COVID-19 pandemic examined the impact of the ensuing economic crisis on the self-employed. Yet, despite the disadvantages associated with self-employment, an increasing number of workers are acknowledging the advantages, driving the transition of workers to self-employment.
Abstract: Self-employment is a form of employment in which the person's income comes from his independent business activity, and not from work performed as an employee employed by an employer. Unlike an employee receiving a fixed salary from his employer, the self-employed manages his own business or acts in a legal association (such as a partnership). The s...
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