Downturn makes more people turn entrepreneurs
By siliconindia   |   Monday, 17 May 2010, 14:30 IST
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Downturn makes more people turn entrepreneurs
New Delhi: According to workforce solutions provider Kelly Services' survey of 1,34,000 people globally, including over 4,000 in India, the economic slowdown has led to the creation of a new wave of entrepreneurs with one in every six people surveyed in the country describing themselves as 'self-employed' now. In India, around 18 percent of the respondents are currently self-employed. Of this (18 percent), 26 percent fall in the category of baby boomers (age between 48-65 years), 20 percent Gen Y (18-29 years) and 14 percent are Gen X (30-47 years). Of those not currently working independently, six percent are 'extremely attracted', and 33 percent 'somewhat attracted' in doing so, the survey revealed. "Many of those who lost their jobs as a result of global economic crisis are reinventing themselves as independent contractors, freelancers and consultants. Today, people are taking charge of their own careers and view self-employment as a way of achieving personal and professional success," Kelly Services Managing Director Kamal Karanth said. "The idea of being a freelancer is exciting professionals and they believe that they are skillful enough to move away from traditional employment relationship and pick self- employment, the survey report shows, in India, there are people who prefer being freelancers and are promoting others too," Karanth added. The appeal of self-employment coincides with a trend towards outsourcing of non-core functions, which has seen many organisations reduce their permanent workforce, creating new opportunities for these freelancers, the report stated. In terms of generational perspective, there is a pattern of younger workers being more enthusiastic than their older counterparts about embarking on a more flexible and entrepreneurial work arrangement. Those sectors with greatest concentration of self - employed workers were utilities, government, engineering and manufacturing. The Kelly 'Global Workforce Index' is an annual survey revealing opinions about work and the workplace from a generational viewpoint.

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