The number of 18-to-24 year-olds starting businesses has increased dramatically in the last 12 months, according to evidence presented in new figures.

Online freelance marketplace PeoplePerHour (PPH) reported that numbers of new small businesses and sole traders registering with its website were growing and that the youngest age bracket was fastest moving, with a 97 per cent rise in 12 months.

Yet while numbers are growing, entrepreneurs remain anxious about the odds of them succeeding. PPH asked small businesses on its books how confident they were about running a business, and seven in 10 said that the next six months would be “make or break”.

In other findings from the report, 87 per cent of small businesses said they were either happy or very happy to be in control of their own destiny, while just over half said they were unlikely to work for someone else ever again.