Jim Woods used to be a commercial real estate analyst for Deutsche Bank  [ DB 64.61  +1.05 (+1.65%) ] in San Francisco. Now he runs his own fledgling company selling organic, naturally-caffeinated beer.

Cheryl DelMastro’s real estate agency and her 22 employees fell victim to Florida’s housing bust. Now she’s running a successful firm selling baby socks to the likes of Target [ TGT 52.83  +0.28 (+0.53%) ]  , Shop-Rite and Duane Reade.

Maxine Tatlongari(cq) went from the American Cancer Society, where she was laid off after 11 years as a fundraiser,  to running her own company that sells vanity mirrors and makeup tables.

All are members of the new class called “accidental or necessity entrepreneurs,” people forced out of work by the recession who have started up their own ventures.

They’ve also decided they rather be their boss than be subjected again to the indignity of a corporate layoff or buyout.

And their numbers are certainly growing, according to the Kauffman Foundation’s latest Index of Entrepreneurial Activity.

Through three quarters of this year, the average percentage of job seekers starting a business increased to 8.99%, compared to 5% for all of 2008, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a global outplacement consultancy.

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