Two out of three young Australians are running their own business or intend to start one after the pandemic forced them to rethink career plans, a survey has found.
Following more than two years of COVID-19 travel restrictions and lockdowns, 57 per cent of young people aged 18 to 24 said their work priorities have changed, according to polling released by web-hosting firm GoDaddy on Thursday.
Almost half have pivoted in their career plans or education due to the pandemic, with 12 per cent currently running a business or side-hustle and 20 per cent planning to start one within 12 months.
A further 33 per cent said they planned to start a business but not for at least 12 months, while 34 per cent had no desire to do so.
Online retail was the most common business young people had started, followed by professional services like marketing, design or photography.
One in four would rather run their own business than work for someone else, with more than a third ranking passion as their most desired career trait, followed by work-life balance and money.
More than three-quarters are willing to take a pay cut for something they are passionate about and on average they are willing to sacrifice 19 per cent of their salary to run their own business.
The biggest barriers for young people wanting to start a business are money and skills, followed by being afraid of failure and lacking confidence.
More than 1000 Australians were surveyed in April by Antenna as part of the research to highlight the impact COVID-19 has had on the job market for young people.
Australian Associated Press
