Self-employment rise uncounted in jobs data

Chicago Tribune ^ | February 6, 2004 | T. Shawn Taylor Tribune staff reporter

[Chi-townChief]

John Preussner gets paid more as an independent information-technology consultant than he did working at a full-time job.

He has a flexible schedule and gets to meet new people all the time. There's never a dull moment, he said, and that's the problem.

"It's sporadic. I'm always job hunting. There are a lot of people competing for those positions," said Preussner, 55, of Schaumburg, who added he'd rather be on a payroll.

For Preussner and others who've turned to self-employment, the so-called jobless recovery feels more like one big non-stop hustle.

Because businesses burned in the recession remain reluctant to add employees, work-for-hire arrangements have grown in popularity for everyone from Web page designers and graphic artists to recruiters and carpenters.

Statistics show self-employment surged 7 percent since the recession ended in November 2001 through December, to 9.5 million workers. But these people don't show up in another key statistic.

[Chi-townChief]

"The government said only 1,000 jobs were added in December. But the unemployment rate, which in December fell to 5.7 percent from 5.9 percent, is drawn from an accompanying survey of households, which does count the self-employed."

And yet they tell us that all of these people have just given up.

[proxy_user]

Depends on how you count. If you are a self-proclaimed consultant, with an office and a business card, but do not currently have any paying clients, are you self-employed or just kidding yourself?

[samtheman]

The press is in the business of covering bad news. You won't see this story covered on the evening news.

[lelio]

are you self-employed or just kidding yourself?

Good point. The government's going to have to come up with some new way to count employment numbers as the current one, while serving us well up until the last couple of years, doesn't easily account for self employed people.

And, like you said, what is "self employed"? Is it one day of work a week (maybe you make 2x your previous salary on that one day)? Also your expenses are much higher in that you have to pay for your own insurance, administrative work, etc.

I think the government should start releasing 1099 tax form information. Perhaps they already do, but it would show the explosion in self-employment better than the current one (which doesn't even show it at all).

[IonInsights]

For Preussner and others who've turned to self-employment, the so-called jobless recovery feels more like one big non-stop hustle.

Am I missing something, or is this (yet again) blantent media bias. At the beginning of the article it says that this guy is making more money and has better hours. Yet, it's a "hustle". Was he quoted as saying this?

[Chi-townChief]

I think they mean hustle in a good way like the verb not the noun but who knows.

[CROSSHIGHWAYMAN]

When upper-income, middle managers or technically skilled people lose their jobs, they do not sit around on their asses waiting for the government handout or whine about it.

They do what is necessary to earn a living.

Whether that's taking a lesser job or starting their own business, business will be done.

[snopercod]

The government's going to have to come up with some new way to count employment numbers as the current one...

They already have one. It's called the "Household Survey", where they actually call 60,000 households and ask who is working, who is not.

But the latest "Household Survey" shows that the U.S. has added 2.4 million jobs in the last two years vs. the "Monthly Payroll Figures", which shows that 537,000 jobs have been lost. [Source: Investor's Business Daily 2-6-04 front page]

So guess which set of data the media use during republican administrations?

[Keyes2000mt]

My wife spent six months looking for work before giving up and starting her own business, making and selling traditional kilts over the Internet. It's starting small but she is turning a profit.

[futureceo31]

And probably enjoying what she is doing and staying with the family I imagine. I have been in busienss for 4 years and it has been really tough with it being a buyers market out there for software development but have managed to survive and build a small but loyal clientele and finally starting to turn around. People should get off their butts and stop whining.

[AppauledAtAppeasementConservat]

"When upper-income, middle managers or technically skilled people lose their jobs, they do not sit around on their asses waiting for the government handout or whine about it.
They do what is necessary to earn a living.

Whether that's taking a lesser job or starting their own business, business will be done.
"

AMEN!! That's what I had to do. My worst month at consulting for a living in IT since April of '03 was the equivalent of someone making $8.90 an hour for a full month even though I worked maybe 16 or 17 hours. Granted that still sucks but it paid the bills. I don't know about this guy but I was spending $13k a year in daycare alone and even though I made about ten grand less than what I would have (had I not lost my job), I didn't have to pay $13k in day care either.

Heck I only had three buisness clients and a handfull of private individuals and made that much money. It's scarey some days because I feel like I am retired and I'm only 30!
I still want a full time job too but not if I don't have too. Business is picking up too just on word of mouth alone! I thank God that I had the opportunities to make the money that paid the bills and don't morn that job loss that's for sure.

[Keyes2000mt]

She's a lot happier since she gave up looking for work a month ago.

[upcountryhorseman]

This is comparing apples to oranges. If self-employed people were never counted before, it is not valid to count
them now.

[Chi-townChief]

Correct but not the point.

[537 Votes]

So guess which set of data the media use during republican administrations?

Uh, the one they've used since the dawn of time. This isn't a media-bias problem, it's an illegals-taking-all-the-jobs problem.

[kittymyrib]

Also, all the hundreds of thousands who ran out of unemployment benefits in Dec. when the federal emergency unemployment benefits expired are not counted in this number. If they were, the percentage of unemployed would have gone up, not down.

[patton]

Amen, brother. It is a crime what I earn - and if it came to an abrubt end tomorrow, I would be a plumber. They make more, anyway.

[sixmil]

Is the Republican campaign slogan going to be "Employ Yourself"? I have trouble seeing how Bush and the rest are going say "look at all the jobs we created" when people are out there creating their own jobs. It is strange how we Republicans like to talk about economies of scale on one hand, yet we promote just the opposite when our open borders / unilateral free trade policy mortgages middle class America.

[Chi-townChief]

No - they don't "create" any jobs. The supply side theory is to free capital for the people to create jobs. Trade is another problem that's been around for the last forty-five years or so and there is no quick fix. People are too happy buying cheap stuff from Chinese sweat shops to stop now.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

ping