Americans Are Becoming Their Own Bosses More Than Ever
Albert Turkington
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When it comes to employment, one of the most discussed challenges facing the American economy is the millions that have simply given up participating in the labor force. But what has not been discussed much until recently is the record numbers of Americans that are still participating in the economy, but choosing to go solo.
According to The Epoch Times, historic numbers of Americans are leaving formal hierarchical employment and instead opting to become self-employed. Indeed, data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that there were around 9.44 million Americans that were considered unincorporated self-employed individuals as of this past October. This represents a significant increase from the same month last year when the corresponding figure was 8.78 million.
This is in significant contrast to the employment figures that show the total number of employees in America is still hovering about 3 percent below what they were right before the pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns.
Indeed, October 2021 also saw 432,101 business formation applications filed in the United States, per the Census Bureau’s figures. This compares to the 414,195 applications that were filed during the same month in 2020, suggesting that a growing number of Americans no longer wish to be formally employed.
There have been a number of reasons that experts have proposed to explain this phenomenon. These include employees fearful of the prospect of returning to the office and being in close contact with co-workers once again. Another reason suggested was the stress of the pandemic itself that has caused some to become increasingly insular and introverted.
Indeed, the work-life balance experienced by many during the pandemic when they transitioned to working from home may have left a lasting positive impression on some, leading many very reluctant to give that up. There are also certainly a number of people who are choosing this path as a result of their refusal to comply with corporate medical tyranny. Regardless of the reason, this trend might very well gain or lose steam over the next 12 months depending on which factor was the most prevalent.
This shift in career paths appears to also be adding to the labor shortages already facing the country’s employers. With the combination of people staying out of the labor force and many of those remaining shifting towards self-employment, it would seem that companies, for the time being, are fated to face stiff competition against each other for workers.
In addition to this, many are already speculating that the omicron variant, mild as it actually, will nonetheless produce economic woes and uncertainty in many sectors as it spreads and the media uses it for ratings.
“The recent rise in COVID-19 cases and the emergence of the Omicron variant pose downside risks to employment and economic activity, and increased uncertainty for inflation,” Fed Chairman Powell said before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and Senate lawmakers on Tuesday.
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