A new wave of businessÂwomen is fighting back against the recession by taking employment into their own hands.
Though the problem of joblessness continues to grow, new figures have shown that nearly 70,000 women overcame the credit crunch to start their own businesses during the last year.
The number of self-employed women jumped substantially over 12 months, with a 4.5% rise in those working full-time and an 8.5% increase in part-time entrepreneurs.
The number of men working for themselves fell by roughly 6000 over the same period, according to newly published labour market statistics.
The success of self-employed women provides a hint of silver lining amid the overall gloom of an 677,000 year-on-year rise in UK unemployment. The number of people out of work is expected to top three million before the economy shows signs of recovery.
Jobs in Scotland have been hit harder by the recession than those south of the border, although the starting point was better in Scotland than elsewhere.
Scottish unemployment rose by 13,000 in the three-month period to August 2009 and by 67,000 over the whole year, the figures showed, bringing the total to 192,000 – slightly more than 7% of Scotland’s working population.
The Scottish Government said the 13,000 rise over summer showed that there could be “absolutely no grounds for complacency” in the economy.
Enterprise Minister Jim Mather said: “Combating the personal, social and economic cost of rising unemployment is the purpose of our comprehensive recovery plan – which is supporting 15,000 jobs, and helping people get back into work.
“It is contributing to Scotland continuing to have higher employment, lower unemployment and higher rates of economic activity than the UK as a whole.”
A spokesman for Gordon Brown said: “The Prime Minister knows this is a very important issue for the country, and the fact that these figures show a significant slowing must be seen as a promising sign.”
However, others commentators warned that there would be significantly worse to come for the UK as a whole.
Economist Vicky Redwood of Capital Economics said: “We think the fiscal squeeze could require around 750,000 job losses in the public sector – meaning that unemployment should easily surpass three million.”
Industry leaders also treated the rise in part-time and self-employed female workers with a note of caution.
John Philpott, chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), said the figures confirmed his earlier conclusion that the downturn was hitting men harder than women.
“Women are the main beneficiaries of a labour market where part-time work is rising while full-time jobs continue to be cut,” he said.
CASE STUDY
While others may be content to bury their heads in the sand and pray that job cuts don’t affect them, two Glasgow businesswomen have dared to take their futures into their own hands.
Photographers Elizabeth Cummings and Seona Earle-Misumi took the plunge three years ago when they launched their Beautifully Boudoir portrait service, and since then the pair say they’ve hardly looked back.
Working for themselves has been tough, they admit, but asked whether they would consider returning to life as employees the two just laugh and give a flat “no”.
“I absolutely enjoy it, and I think the biggest thing is just that it’s our own place, something we know we’ve worked hard for,” says Ms Cummings, 27.
Neither woman had a business background before starting the firm, but the learning-on-the-job experience was rewarding, they say.
“I think anybody could start their own business if they have the determination,” Ms Cummings adds.
She says that while the first couple of years involved a “manic” workload, the partners have been able to ease off a little recently.
Moreover, the flexibility of life as your own boss has its own benefits, says Ms Earle-Misumi, a 32-year-old mother of one.
Both women agree that the latest trend towards higher female self-employment may just be the natural redressing of an imbalance that has stood uncorrected for many years.
Aside from that, Ms Cummings says, there is the fact that “there are just a lot of determined women out there”.
