The latest Government statistics show that the number of self-employed people in the UK has fallen by 131,000 in the past 12 months.
What a difference a year makes. In August 2014, media headlines were full of the news that self-employment in Britain was at its highest level for 40 years. In 2014, 15% of workers were self-employed, up from 13% in 2008; this was an increase of some 600,000 in six years.
And yet, some were calling the rise a "mixed blessing" amid fears that a lack of jobs was forcing many to work for themselves and there were also concerns about the low levels of earning for the self-employed.
Now, in just a year, there has been a fall of 131,000 in the number of self-employed people.
The latest figures are part of a wider employment picture, as new Government data also shows that unemployment has gone up from 5.5% to 5.6%. Despite this, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has welcomed what it sees as a positive shift from self-employment to paid employment.
James Sproule, IoD chief economist, said: "Today's slight increase in the unemployment rate may have surprised economists and spooked policymakers, but there is more good news than bad in these latest figures. As the economy strengthens, businesses are feeling more confident, and people are shifting into full-time work. For people who could only find part-time work or work for themselves in recent years, this is good news."
Emma Jones, founder of small business network Enterprise Nation, said: "Self-employment has been the driving force of employment for the last couple of years. It's partly been about lack of satisfying jobs, but mostly it has been about technology and opportunity and a flexible economic environment that has supported them.
"We've been expecting the number of self-employed to level off as people build business and become employers themselves, or decide to return to employment if it hasn't worked out."
However, Chris Bryce, chief executive of IPSE, the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed, is concerned that Government support for the self-employed is waning.
He said: "The majority of jobs created in recent years came from the self-employed community, and if the Government is to reach its ambition of an extra two million people in the labour market by the end of the Parliament, this group has a vital role to play. However, last week's Summer Budget delivered a number of measures which have potential to restrict growth of the self-employed."