47% of entrepreneurs expect to increase their global workforce this year

(From Tech.eu):

If you were still in doubt: it’s entrepreneurs supporting the (albeit slow) recovery of the global economy the most, with 47% expecting to increase their worldwide workforce in 2015, compared to only 29% of senior executives at large corporations.

That is according to the new EY global job creation and youth entrepreneurship survey 2015, a study into the impact entrepreneurship has on the global jobs market.

EY asked 2,345 entrepreneurs about their hiring plans in March 2015, in 13 ‘key’ global markets such as Germany, China, India, France, Japan, Canada, the UK, the US, Mexico and others.

The survey also shows entrepreneurs have had a significant uptick in positive sentiment toward the economy, with 71% reporting confidence in the economic direction of their domestic market, and 66% confident in the economic direction of the global economy (up from a mere 46% in the 2014 survey).

Young entrepreneurs appear to be more likely to hire abroad than older ones, with 69% of those under 35 expecting to hire globally in the next year.

EY also asked 2,807 ‘young people’ (aged 18 to 25) about their entrepreneurial ambitions and found that 65% of them want to be entrepreneurs at some point in their careers. One in four have already started drawing up a business plan.

Mark Weinberger, chairman and CEO of EY, comments:

“The global economy is on the road to sustained recovery, but growth is slow. One often missed opportunity to fuel growth is empowering and supporting entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs continue to defy global trends in their levels of economic confidence and plans for workforce expansion, and this survey clearly shows that. Governments and business should work together with entrepreneurs to create the right ecosystems for success.”

Featured image credit: Kylie Walls / Shutterstock