Employers and the self-employed in the censuses 1851-1911: The census as a source for identifying entrepreneurs, business numbers and size distribution

Abstract

This paper discusses how the original manuscript Census records can be used to derive information on employers and their workforce, self-employed sole proprietors, and the acreage of farms. It assesses how the content changes over time and has to be handled in database construction, focusing on issues of completeness; identification of employers, own account and workers; occupational coding; gender coverage; identification of portfolio businesses; partnerships; and location. This underpins database design for Entrepreneurs 1851-1911 to be deposited at UKDA.