Three quarters of entrepreneurs plan to recruit more staff this year, compared with less than a third of CEOs running large corporates, according to global research by EY.
The firm’s third Global Job Creation Survey shows that 76% of entrepreneurs intend to increase the size of their workforce in the year ahead by an average of 19%, largely driven by growing global demand for goods and services and technological advances.
In comparison, earlier EY research with the CEOs of large corporates found only 31% said they intend to hire in the next year, with the analysis suggesting this reticence is driven by geopolitical concerns and cost cutting pressure from activist shareholders.
Maria Pinelli, EY’s global vice chair, strategic growth markets said: ‘The results of our annual survey relay a consistent message – that entrepreneurs, as key drivers of innovation in the global economy, are job creators and are far less risk averse when it comes to employing new people than CEOs of larger companies.’
EY’s research suggests technology is a key driver of job creation among entrepreneurs, with over half (51%) agreeing that investments made in technology have changed their workforce, and 81% of these respondents saying it has led them to hire. Technology and mobile working is opening up a wider pool of workers, with 55% of entrepreneurs planning to hire from outside of their country, compared to 44% in the previous two years.
Pinelli said: ‘Entrepreneurs are increasingly global in their outlook and are exploiting the opportunities that technology brings them to tap the global talent pool and address skills shortages in their home market this way. This is in large part due to technology enabling mobile working, something that, according to our survey, women entrepreneurs are especially likely to see as a significant trend.’
Overall, entrepreneurs demonstrate confidence in the global economy, with 47% confident, very or extremely confident and 46% somewhat confident, rising to 63% in EMEIA. EY says that this is translating into a growing demand for entry level employees, which it says is good news for youth around the world, both skilled and unskilled.
Pinelli said: ‘In EMEIA there appears a real appetite to tap into skills available overseas, perhaps in response to skills shortages at home. This and the ease of hiring globally is something for governments in the region to consider if they are to stay ahead of the global race for talent.’
