By YOUNG MONEY Staff
22 July 2010

A new survey conducted by job website CareerBuilder.com found that over 26 percent of unemployed workers laid off in the last six months are thinking about starting their own business instead of searching for new jobs. The unemployed are turning their hands to a wide variety of new ventures, including cleaning services, consulting, event planning, e-commerce and even baking.

Social media and the internet offer different opportunities for entrepreneurs young and old, as Craigslist and other classified ads help people find both labor and services, while dedicated sites like Sologig.com offer contract work.

Social media websites like Facebook and Twitter help people leverage their networks of contacts efficiently,providing a platform for free, effective PR if handled correctly.

The transition from seeking full or part-time positions to creating new business could be good news for the economy as a whole. It's widely accepted that small businesses are the primary engine of economic growth and new employment. The U.S. Small Business Administration calculates that just over 50 percent of all private sector employees work for small businesses, and 64 percent of new jobs over the past 50 years came from these same small ventures.