The last unemployment figure for June 2009 may have been 9.5 %, but the market has inspired many new entrepreneurs and small businesses.

A recent article in AOL's Daily Finance cites statistics released by Challenger Grey & Christmas that revealed small businesses and entrepreneurship are on the rise. The Challenger Job Market Index examines such trends quarterly.

The percentage of individuals seeking jobs but who have decided to become entrepreneurs hit 8.7 for the second quarter of this year, the news provider reveals. That's an increase in entrepreneurship from 6.4% in the first quarter of 2009.

According to company CEO John Challenger, this jump in figures is "remarkable" but may be due to the fact that many of the entrepreneurs initially lost their jobs and so "these individuals are a little more averse to risk than those who voluntarily leave their employers to pursue entrepreneurial activities" he says to the news wire.

However, the Bureau of Labor Statistics presents promising figures, indicating that the self-employment rate increased to 6.6 % in June 2009 meaning that there were around 9.1 million self-employed individuals.