Poll finds lack of interest in self-employment

DESPITE the ravages of the recession, Irish people are not overly keen to become their own bosses, according to two new international surveys on entrepreneurship.

One of the surveys, conducted by the European Commission, claims that the percentage of Irish- based professionals who would like to be self-employed has fallen from 63% to 49% in the past decade. That means that the fall-off in the willingness to go solo, in business terms, became active while the Celtic Tiger era was still live and is not a simple consequence of the economic meltdown.

The EC survey, however, showed that the spirit of entrepreneurship is far from dead here. It ranked Ireland as still being one of the strongest markets in Europe for independently -minded business people, stating that the 49% of people that like the idea of being self-employed still ranks higher than the EU average of 45%.

It also noted that 31% of respondents said they could become their own boss in the next five years.

A separate survey from international recruitment services company Kelly Services shows similarly conflicting results.

The Irish section of the latest Kelly Global Workforce Index shows that less than 20% of Irish people want to start their own businesses and only 25% of those questioned are currently self-employed.

However, the company maintains that this is an increasing trend, even though about 50% of respondents said they would be uncertain over income, risk of failure and lack of support if they were to go down the self-employed route.

According to Kelly Services’ operations manager in Ireland, Karen Power: “Many of those who lost their jobs as a result of the global economic crisis are seizing the opportunity to re-invent themselves as independent contractors, freelancers and consultants, as well as starting their own businesses.

“Our survey results indicate an increase in the number of people who are either engaged in or are planning some form of entrepreneurial activity,” she added.