Sixty-one per cent of the Maltese would rather be employees than self-employed, according to a Eurostat survey.

In 19 of the 27 EU countries, a majority of respondents said that they would prefer to be employees, most strikingly in Sweden (74%) and Finland (73%). There was least interest in working as an employee in Lithuania (32%) and Bulgaria (40%).

The survey found that men and young people prefer self-employment. Men are more likely than women to prefer self-employment (by a margin of 42% to 33%), while women are more likely to prefer working as an employee (63% vs. 53%).

Younger respondents are more inclined to express a preference for self employment: 45% of 15-24 year-olds say they would prefer to be self-employed, as opposed to 35-37% of people in the three older age groups.

The fear of bankruptcy is one of the largest obstacles for many people to start a business: 43% of EU respondents say they would be afraid of the risk of going bankrupt (-6 points compared with 2009 survey), while 33% say that the risk of irregular income would make them afraid of setting up a business (-7 points).

Malta, along with the UK, placed last at 15% when respondents were asked if they had followed any school or university course about entrepreneurship.