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Star Comment: Mere smoke and mirrors

SOME people opt willingly for self-employed status because they believe in their ability to develop a business of their own.

The vast majority of those who do, however, are press-ganged into self-employment by the lack of job prospects and represent a particularly precarious section of the workforce.

The huge increase in the number of self-employed people in the very recent past — up to over 4.5 million — does not reveal an outburst of entrepreneurial zeal.

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