With 6.9 million jobs eliminated this year, many unemployed workers are trying to reverse their fortunes by starting their own businesses, either as solo entrepreneurs or by purchasing a franchise. According to the quarterly Job Market Index of outplacement company Challenger Gray & Christmas, 8.7% of the unemployed who found work in the second quarter of this year did so by starting their own businesses, up from 6.4% in the first quarter. But the figures commingle businesses with paid employees with self-employed people who incorporate, the latter representing 75% of all small businesses. Unfortunately, the odds are not on their side; according to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, 50% of new businesses will fail in the first five years. That is in normal times, and we are right now in a difficult recession. The National Small Business Association reports that 60% of small businesses reported declining revenues over the past 12 months, the first time a majority of respondents cited declining revenues since the polling question was first posed in 1993. At the same time, business bankruptcies have nearly doubled over the past two years. Self-employment and entrepreneurship involve significant risks and at least some modest investment. As such, they are not viable alternatives to lack of opportunities in the formal job market.