BUSINESS leaders are calling for more support to help people overcome poverty through self-employment.

They spoke out after a new study revealed those living in poorer areas of Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire are less likely to start their own business.

The research, carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), shows that areas with a history of heavy industry are likely to have much lower levels of self-employment.

In Renfrewshire, the leafy villages of Bridge of Weir and Houston top the entrepreneurial table, with Johnstone and Linwood languishing at the bottom.

And it is a similar story in neighbouring East Renfrewshire, where Newton Mearns and Giffnock are way ahead of Neilston and Barrhead.

According to the FSB, communities with relatively high home and car ownership and high educational attainment do better when it comes to people deciding to go it alone in business.

Alan Lyall, chair of the FSB’s Renfrewshire and Inverclyde branch, said: “We find high levels of unemployment and low self-employment in towns that bear the scars of industrial decline, suggesting that poverty is a barrier to self-employment and the social mobility that comes with it.

“Research shows you’re less likely to set up on your own if you have few skills, have little in the way of cash reserves and don’t have a car or own your home.”

Across Scotland, the number of self-employed people has increased but Mr Lyall insists more must be done to foster the entrepreneurial spirit.

He added: “Our response should be to support, not pity, those who choose to work for themselves.

“We need to get behind people who want to change their circumstances. Boosting self-employment could help to turn around some of the area’s most disadvantaged places.”