The ranks of the self-employed grew substantially during the recession, Statistics Canada reported Monday.

Between October 2008 — when the recession officially began in Canada — and October 2009, the number of Canadians describing themselves as self-employed jumped by more than 100,000, while the number of paid employees fell by 480,000 over the same period.

But it would be wrong to assume that the burgeoning number of self-employed came entirely from the ranks of the newly jobless, Statistics Canada said.

"The characteristics of those who lost their jobs bore little resemblance to those who became self-employed after the first five months of the downturn," according to an analysis by the federal agency.

It found that 28 per cent of recently laid-off paid employees were employed in manufacturing. But many of those who subsequently became self-employed were in services.

Statistics Canada also said it found that only "a small proportion" become self-employed in the months following the loss of a paid job.

"Even if the transition rate of recently laid-off workers reached the maximum observed in the previous 14 years, laid-off workers would account for just over one-third of those who became self-employed over the period," the agency said.

Statistics Canada also said the growth in self-employment was concentrated among older workers.

The most recent labour forces survey showed the official unemployment rate was 8.2 per cent in February, with about 1.5 million jobless.

Canada's unemployment picture