The global economic downturn has helped create many more self-entrepreneurs, with one in every six people describing oneself as 'selfemployed', according to a world survey by Kelly Services, a workforce solutions company.
The Kelly Global Workforce Index is an annual survey, revealing opinions about work and the workplace.
It revealed that 18 per cent of respondents are currently selfemployed. This category is made up 26 per by those in the 48-65 years group, another 20 per cent by those between 18-29 years and 14 per cent of those between 30 and 47 years.
So, from a 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.
"Many of those who lost their jobs as a result of the 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," said Kelly Services India's managing director, Kamal Karanth.
Those industries with the greatest concentration of self-employed workers were utilities, government, engineering and manufacturing.