Self-Employment: North West vs Yorkshire and The Humber
Comparing self-employment in North West and Yorkshire and The Humber using official ONS figures. In 2019, 481,702 people were self-employed in North West (14.0% of the workforce) versus 345,139 in Yorkshire and The Humber (13.5%). North West has the higher self-employment rate, by 0.5%.
Quick answer
Side by side
| Measure | North West | Yorkshire and The Humber |
|---|---|---|
| Self-employed people | 481,702 | 345,139 |
| Self-employment rate | 14.0% | 13.5% |
| Rank by rate (of 12) | 8th | 10th |
| Rank by number (of 12) | 4th | 7th |
| Reference period | 2019 | 2019 |
Ranks are across all 12 UK statistical regions. The self-employed count and rate are the latest ONS regional figures (2019); the national rate is from ONS EMP14 (Jan-Mar 2026) and is not directly comparable to the regional counts.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has a higher self-employment rate, North West or Yorkshire and The Humber?
- North West has the higher self-employment rate: 14.0% vs 13.5% — a gap of 0.5%. Source: ONS Annual Population Survey (2019).
- How many people are self-employed in North West and Yorkshire and The Humber?
- 481,702 people are self-employed in North West and 345,139 in Yorkshire and The Humber (ONS, 2019). That is a difference of 136,563 people, with North West having more.
- How do North West and Yorkshire and The Humber rank in the UK for self-employment?
- Out of the 12 UK regions, North West ranks 8th by self-employment rate and Yorkshire and The Humber ranks 10th. Both are measured against the UK-wide rate of 13.4% (Jan-Mar 2026).
- Is self-employment growing faster in North West or Yorkshire and The Humber?
- The ONS regional breakdown reports a point-in-time count and rate for 2019, not a growth rate, so a like-for-like growth comparison is not available from this dataset. What it does show is that North West has the higher self-employment rate of the two (14.0%).
Related comparisons
Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Self-employment by NUTS1 (region) (2019, released 2020-04-17). Survey source: Annual Population Survey (regional, 2018-based weights) / Labour Force Survey (national). Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Data accessed and verified 2026-06-27.