Self Employment
type: Dataset
description: People are classed as 'in employment' (employee or self-employed) if they have done at least one hour of paid work in the week prior to their LFS interview. The self employed ratio is the number of people who are self employed (16+) divided by the number of people in employment (16+). The data used for this indicator is taken from the Annual Population Survey (APS). The APS was introduced in January 2004 and it has replaced the Annual Local Area Labour Force Survey. The APS combines results from the Labour Force Survey ( LFS) and the English, Welsh and Scottish Labour Force Survey boosts. The boosts increase the sample size which means the APS can provide more robust labour market estimates for local areas compared to the main LFS. Thus the APS is the primary source for information on local labour markets providing headline estimates on employment, unemployment and economic activity. The APS is the largest annual household survey in Scotland and provides a wealth of information about individuals' personal circumstances and their work. The LFS surveys individuals living at private households in the UK and is designed to be representative of the national population. The Scottish Government funds the boost to the LFS sample in Scotland, taking the sample size from approximately 8,000 households for the each year to 23,000 households.
issued: 2026-08-13T13:21:07.864262
modified: 2026-08-13T13:22:32.476113
version notes: In April 2019, APS data for Scotland was reweighted to 2016 population estimates. Consequently estimates for previous years (from 2012 through to 2018) may differ from previously released results.
contact point: Organization
contact point: Kind
theme: Labour Force
accuracy: Where the estimate is unreliable (i.e. the group sample size or estimate is small) or the group sample size is zero or disclosive (0-2), the data has been removed.
comment: Self Employment level and ratio (aged 16 and over).
completeness: Statistics from the APS are presented in reports and spreadsheets available on the [Scottish Goverment's website](https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/Publications).
confidentiality: This dataset does not contain any sensitive or personal information.
consistency: The Scottish Government publishes reports which [present analysis on the labour market](https://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/Publications) at Scotland and sub-Scotland levels. Note that this data is not seasonally adjusted and comparisons should only be made with the same quarter across years.
geographical coverage: S12
geographical coverage: S92
license id: uk-ogl
next update: 2022-11-01
quality management: Details on the methodology and quality assurance of Annual Population Survey data can be found on the [ONS website](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/methodologies/annualpopulationsurveyapsqmi)
reference period: PeriodOfTime
  end date: 2020
  start date: 2004
timeliness: This dataset is updated quarterly.
uniqueness: Not assessed
update frequency: annual
validity: The Annual Population Survey (APS) combines results from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the English, Welsh and Scottish Labour Force Survey boosts increasing the sample size in Scotland, which means the APS can provide more robust labour market estimates compared to the main Labour Force Survey, for local areas and smaller groups of the population.
will be updated: true

self-employment.csv
type: Distribution
description: Data file for Self Employment
format: CSV
issued: 2026-08-13T13:22:32.486618
modified: 2026-08-13T13:22:32.482092
table schema: Schema
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyName
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Units
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Measurement
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Age
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: Gender
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: DateCode
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyCode
  column: Column
    datatype: float
    name: Value
  column: Column
    datatype: text
    name: GeographyType
access URL: https://admin.data.gov.scot/resource/150fcf10-49b0-441c-8294-afdbb9e74c5e/download
comment: Self Employment level and ratio (aged 16 and over).
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyCode
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Value
  type: float
dictionary: Column
  column: DateCode
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyName
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: GeographyType
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Age
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Gender
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Units
  type: text
dictionary: Column
  column: Measurement
  type: text

Scottish Government
type: Agent

Labour Force
type: Concept