Laid-off workers are taking solace from their spouses and jump-starting entrepreneurial enterprises by renting space in so-called temporary, or “swing,” office suites. Leases can be as short as one to three months or can stretch on for years.

“It’s the same phenomenon we saw in the early ’90s,” said real-estate broker William Cohen, of Newmark Knight Frank. “If people get laid off they don’t shrivel up and die. They can’t afford to wait. They typically go to executive suites first, and those are doing well.”

Wurk’s Gorguin Shaikoli, vice president of marketing and brand development, said their upscale concept is attracting folks from a mix of industries, including accountants, lawyers, media types and financial firms. Those downsized come from among others: JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and UBS.

At Wurk, the cost of a cubicle work station starts at $1,300 per month but goes down per person as the head count goes up. As Wurk gears up at 1515 Broadway, a pre-construction special for a four-person group can cost from $4,000 to $6,000, Shaikoli said, depending on the location in the building.

While Wurk is a newcomer to the area, the global brand Regus, which operates the HQ Global Workplaces, Regus Business Centers and other office-rental brands, already hosts 17 sites in Manhattan, with more to come.

Regus’ broker, Mark Ravesloot, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis, said, “They have made a significant expansion over the last two years in Manhattan. Even though the real estate is expensive, it is an attractive option.”

Regus provides Internet and telephones along with administrative support and the option to use meeting rooms, videoconferencing studios and a business lounge.

At Micro Office Solutions, a cubicle normally rents for about $600 a month. The spaces range in size from a 60-square-foot cubicle to private offices of 200 to 300 square feet. There are conference rooms, and sections that contain private offices with cubicles for support staff.

“There is flexibility to grow and contract with the economy,” said David Rotbard, co-founder of Micro Office Solutions, whose “swing” office space rents for as little as $300 a month and includes career coaching and business-advisory classes.

One tenant told Rotbard, “My wife gave me two weeks to find something, and to go do anything other than stay at home and make [her] crazy.”

Recognizing that many new businesses, including his own Bloomberg company, start in temporary office spaces, Mayor Michael Bloomberg has organized a new city-sponsored business incubator.

Through this mayoral initiative, Trinity Real Estate has donated 16,000 square feet at 160 Varick Street. The incubator is being made available to start-ups and new entrepreneurs. Already, more than 200 applications have been received for the $200-a-month spots, which will be ready by mid-April.

Bruce Niswander, director of tech transfer and innovation at Polytechnic Institute of New York University, which will operate the incubator, says the applicants have to answer a number of detailed questions about their business and financial plans to “show that they’ve thought it through.”

The incubator will have free Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters data feeds, while other university partners will provide mentoring services, business seminars and networking opportunities for tenants.

Applicants for the city’s incubator program may contact Bruce Niswander at NYU-Poly at [email protected] or 718-260-3581.