Key Small Business Statistics - April 2004

Do the self-employed work longer hours than employees?

The evidence is strong that the self-employed work longer hours than employees; this has been the case since at least 1987. The self-employed worked 40.8 hours per week in 2003 compared with 35.5 hours for employees, on average. Even more striking is the large difference in those who usually worked over 50 hours per week in 2003: 33% of self-employed persons worked over 50 hours compared with only 5 percent of employees (Figure 9). Clearly, the self-employed usually work longer hours than employees.

Figure 9: Percentage Distribution of Usual Weekly Hours of Employees and Self-employed, 1987 and 2003

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, January 2004.

When it comes to working part-time (less than 30 hours per week), the self-employed are very similar to employees; 22% of the self-employed and 19% of employees worked part-time in 2002.

These differences between the self-employed and employees persisted over the 1987–2003 period, although there has been some abatement of the tendency of the self-employed to work over 50 hours per week since 1999. As well, there has been a small rise in the proportion of those working part-time, both among the self-employed and among employees.

As shown in Figure 10, there are also major differences between men and women in usual weekly hours worked: men are more likely to work long hours, while women are more likely to work part-time. On average, self-employed men worked 44.7 hours per week in 2003, compared with only 33.3 hours for self-employed women. Furthermore, 39% of self-employed men worked over 50 hours in 2003, compared with only 20% of self-employed women. The same pattern applies among employees, although at much lower levels: 7% of male employees worked over 50 hours in 2003 compared with only 2% of female employees.

Figure 10: Percentage Distribution of Usual Weekly Hours Worked, by Class of Worker and Sex, 2003

Source: Statistics Canada, Labour Force Survey, January 2004.

Females are more likely to work part-time, whether they are self-employed or are employees. Among the self-employed, 38% of women worked part-time (less than 30 hours) in 2003, compared with 13% of men. Among employees, 26% of women worked part-time in 2003, compared with 11% of men.