With the national unemployment rate climbing to a five-year high of 6.1 percent, more than 600,000 fewer jobs in the workforce today than at the beginning of the year, and job security becoming more uncertain, some people are thinking about going into business for themselves ­ particularly those who recently lost their jobs.

But now may not be the best time, according to ClearRock, an executive coaching and outplacement firm headquartered in Boston.

To be sure, starting a business is not for everyone ­ especially if your prime motivation is because you have no other way of earning a living, ClearRock says. Although more than 12 percent of the labor force engages in some new entrepreneurial activity annually, only just one in 10 people started a business because they had no other choice for work, reports the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor of U.S. entrepreneurial activity.