Nearly two-thirds of workers want to set up own businesses: job bank poll

Staff writer with CNA

Almost 70 percent of employees aged 21 to 40 want to set up their own businesses, a survey released yesterday by 1111 Job Bank showed.

The online job bank said that 33.1 percent of employees in the 21-to-30 age bracket said they intend to found their own business, while about 35 percent of those in the 31-to-40 age group are considering such a move.

The survey showed that many employees have been frustrated by persistently low wages and are keen to find a way to beat the income doldrums.

Among respondents in the 21-to-30 age bracket who said they want to have their own business, 67 percent are university graduates, higher than the 62.8 percent for all age groups polled.

1111 Job Bank vice president Daniel Lee (李大華) said that employees, in particular first-time jobseekers, face an unfriendly job market in Taiwan, where low wages persist and promotion opportunities are few.

The poll came after Microbio Co (中天生技) chairman Lu Kung-ming (路孔明) last week said that the average starting salary for new graduates has changed little over the past 35 years, which he said poses a threat to the nation’s development.

A survey released by another online job bank, yes123, last week showed that the average expected starting salary of new college and university graduates stood at NT$31,284 (US$1,012), down NT$254 or 0.8 percent from a similar survey conducted a year earlier.

Over the past three years, the yes123 survey showed that first-time jobseekers did not expect a significant salary increase given a job market that has suffered long-term wage stagnation.

According to the 1111 survey, among workers who want to have their own business, 30 percent said they aim to join a franchise to run a restaurant or food stall, and 22.5 percent said they plan to venture into the beverage business or have their own coffee shop.

The prospective business owners have, on average, about NT$770,000 in funds to build their businesses, with most of the money coming from savings, bank loans and financial support from family members or friends.

The survey, conducted from January to December last year, collected 3,164 valid questionnaires, including 1,046 in the 21-to-30 age group, the job bank said.

Survey of employees dreaming of owning business:

‧ 21 to 30 years old: 33.1 percent.

‧ 31 to 40 years old: 35 percent.

‧ Target business: franchise restaurant or food stall (30 percent); beverage or coffee shop (22.5 percent).