Generation Z could set up record 800,000 companies this year amid pandemic - poll

The poll of over 2,000 British adults suggests that one in seven young people, aged 18 to 24, plans to start their own business in 2021.The poll of over 2,000 British adults suggests that one in seven young people, aged 18 to 24, plans to start their own business in 2021.
The poll of over 2,000 British adults suggests that one in seven young people, aged 18 to 24, plans to start their own business in 2021.
A record number of “Generation Z” businesses are planned this year as young people look to take control of their futures amid the pandemic.

According to a poll of more than 2,000 UK adults, one in seven people aged 18 to 24 plans to start their own business in 2021.

If they carry out their plans, this would result in a bumper 800,000 new Gen Z businesses this year. Between 2018 and 2019, 390,000 businesses were started in the UK across all age groups.

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Ed Surman, managing director of support outfit Mushroombiz, which commissioned the poll, said the results showed that young people leaving school and university are “rejecting the shrinking job market to take back control of their futures from Covid-19.”

He added: “This reality has forced many young people to re-evaluate their futures and become their own boss.”

The poll – which was carried out by Yonder, formerly Populus – also revealed that 13 per cent of Britons would start their own business if they had more spare time, while 20 per cent would become their own boss if they had more money.

Notably, the poll showed that, across all age groups, about twice as many men (9 per cent) as women (4 per cent) plan to start their own business this year, while over one fifth of Londoners (21 per cent) plan to become their own boss in 2021.

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The news comes in spite of underlying concerns for the UK economy, with the poll revealing a majority of Britons (57 per cent) are not confident in the country’s economic prospects for 2021.

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