The importance of self-employment as a basic form of professional activation – regional analysis

Abstract

The aim of the article is to determine the importance of self-employment as a form of professional activation of unemployed people in individual regions of Poland. Self-employment is becoming an instrument whose role in reducing unemployment is becoming more and more important. For this reason, the article attempts to answer several key questions, namely: in which regions are the unemployed most likely to use this form of support? In which regions is the effectiveness of self-employment the highest? Is there a relationship between the structure of the unemployed and the decision to start your own business? In order to answer the questions asked, rankings of voivodeships in Poland were prepared, highlighting the key aspect of self-employment. The identification and analysis of the indicated relationships was possible thanks to a literature review and statistical data collected by the Central Statistical Office and reports from the Ministry of Development and Social Policy. The analysis confirmed that the role of self-employment is growing in the Polish economy, although with varying intensity in individual regions of Poland. The analysis of statistical data also allows us to conclude that there is a relationship between the structure of unemployment and interest in one’s own business, although it is not so obvious in every region. However, it should be remembered that although this is the simplest form of entrepreneurship, it can become an important factor in the development of a given region. Each new enterprise increases its growth possibilities, and although it has a sole proprietorship structure, there is a chance that due to the scale of such companies, some of them will expand their operations and employ employees in the future.