Start-up activity among unemployed managers and executives in the first half of 2011 fell to its lowest level since such activity has been tracked, according to new survey results from outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. 

The survey results reflect the harsh conditions that currently exist for would-be entrepreneurs, whose biggest obstacle may be securing the funds to undertake such an endeavor.

Through the first six months of 2011, an average of just 3.3 percent of job seekers decided to start their own business.  That was down from the previous record low of 3.7 percent averaged over the first two quarters of 2010.  In the second quarter of 2011, the start-up rate was even lower, with only 2.5 percent of job seekers launching their own firms.

The Challenger survey is conducted quarterly among approximately 3,000 job seekers re-entering the work force in a variety of industries and occupations across the country.  Though all career levels are represented, the survey pool tends to skew toward the more experienced, managerial and executive level job seeker.

The 2.5 percent of job seekers starting businesses in the second quarter is the lowest level of start-up activity ever recorded by Challenger in survey records going back to 1986.  Even in 2001, amid the dot-com collapse that was particular devastating to recent start-ups, entrepreneurship was still pursued, on average, by nearly 8 percent of job seekers every quarter.  Over the past six quarters, the average start-up rate is roughly half the 2001 average at 4.2 percent.