New ONS stats underline growth in mobile therapy

New figures released by the Office of National Statistics add weight to reports that the number of home-based and mobile therapists in the UK is on the rise.

There are now 2.5million UK home business owners across all industries, equating to 52% of the total number of UK small businesses and 8% of the UK’s total workforce, according to the figures, which were reported following analysis by insurer Direct Line for Business.

The research suggests that this growth is a sign of an evolving UK workforce, which has developed in a challenging and uncertain economic environment, which tallies with stories of therapists setting up as mobiles after closing their salons to save on overheads.

The South East and South West had the highest concentration of home business owners, representing a tenth of the total workforce in both regions.
More than a quarter (27%) of Herefordshire’s 92,000-strong workforce are home business owners – the largest concentration across the whole of the UK. Pembrokeshire was second with 23%, or over 10,000 people, and Eastbourne was third with 20%, or 8,074.

London’s home business owner community accounts for 9% of the total 4m-strong workforce, with more than 356,000 across the city.