Labour Force Profile

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) as at 31 December 2015, how many people in the labour force are self-employed and working as full-time freelancers; (b) what sectors/industries are they from; and (c) what is their educational breakdown in terms of numbers of those who are (i) diploma holders and (ii) those with qualifications of degree and above.

Mr Lim Swee Say: As of June 2015, 7.9% (or 169,500) of employed residents were own account workers. Own account workers are self-employed persons who operate their own business or trade without employing any paid worker.

Ninety-three-point-one percent (157,800) of own account workers were in the Services sector. In particular, this group of workers was most highly represented in the Transportation and Storage sector. Table 1 captures the detailed breakdown of own account workers by industry.

16.4% (27,900) of own account workers hold diplomas and professional qualifications, while 21.4% (36,200) of these workers hold degrees and above. The proportion of own account workers with diplomas and above is 37.8%, compared to 53.3% (with diploma and above qualifications) amongst workers who are employees.