Students are showing their entrepreneurial credentials as evidence suggests that growing numbers are starting their own businesses to swerve having to get a job upon graduating.

A survey by online service PeoplePerHour, which connects freelancers with work opportunities, reveals a 54% more students started a business in the last 12 months than in the previous year.

Other findings include 57% who started a business did so because of a perceived lack of security in the jobs market.

Meanwhile just under half said they were motivated by the prospect of earning extra cash while in education and a third simply said they wanted to be their own boss.

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder and CEO of PeoplePerHour, said: “A major factor in this growing trend of new small business owners across the younger generations is how cheap and easy it is to set up a business and build a client base from day one.

“The barriers of starting a business being lowered is one of the main reasons we’re seeing such a noticeable rise in students choosing the self-employment route earlier than ever before.

“They seem to be concerned about the security of the current jobs market for graduates and appear to be making alternative plans for their future after university.”

Areas experiencing the fastest growth in student entrepreneurs are Bristol, London and Liverpool.

The study also revealed that students are finding plenty of spare time to work on their start-ups. Just over four in 10 said they spent 20 hours a week or more on the business, while, astonishingly, 15% claimed to be working 50-hour weeks on top of studies.