COVID-19 and self-employment ten months into the crisis

Almost a year into the crisis, the latest lockdown has hit the self-employed hard in the UK. In January 2021, 57% of surveyed self-employed workers were earning less than £1,000 per month, up from 31% in January 2020 and 46% in August 2020. Taking all government support into account, including the Self-employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS), almost two thirds (62%) of survey respondents report being worse off as a result of the crisis. Jack Blundell and Maria Ventura write that there is room for policy improvement.