Youth leads business starters

People in Shanghai are more enthusiastic about starting their own business than in Beijing, due to the young people's increasing passion for business facing the demanding job market, the Shanghai Occupation Promotion Center said yesterday.

The survey, covering 23,000 people aged between 16 and 64, uncovered that 5.01 percent of Shanghai citizens started their own business last year, 1.59 percentage points higher than in Beijing.

Young people and those with higher educational backgrounds are among the most active groups developing their own business.

The center said the city's economy has maintained a double-digit increase for 15 years, which is the base for more entrepreneurs' to debut. The government has accelerated the development of the modern service and manufacturing industries, creating more opportunities for innovative enterprises.

The survey shows that youth ranging from 25 to 34 years old are the fastest expanding group to be new business owners. Of them, 6.5 percent started their own business in 2006, nearly doubling the figure in 2005.

The increase in youths starting their own business was attributed to the increasing stress of the job hunting market.

There was a decline in entrepreneurs who are laid-off Shanghainese aged between 40 and 50 years old, or "4050" people, as the government has provided more support to the group through different ways these past few years.

Among people holding high academic qualifications above a master's degree, 14.3 percent started their own business and 22.6 percent intend to become an entrepreneur. This group is expected to be the mainstream of business entrepreneurs in Shanghai.

According to the survey, more female entrepreneurs appeared last year, up 0.6 percent than 2005.

The survey also showed that 47.1 percent of entrepreneurs believe they seize every opportunity and are doing what they are really interested in.

tags:business  innovative enterprises  survey  entrepreneurs  

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