Lawrence Mishel — Social Security data confirm same old pattern: Self-employment headcount has risen but economic impact remains small

One indication of the growth of self-employment activity has been the rise in the number of people filing Schedule C income and self-employment earnings in their annual tax filings. This growth has been cited to illustrate the escalation of self-employment and to suggest that Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) measures of self-employment are missing an important phenomenon. Tracking headcounts of tax filings, however, does not adequately reflect trends in the economic impact of self-employment since, as this analysis shows, most of the growth is activity for supplementary incomes....

Gig economy.

Economic Policy Institute
Social Security data confirm same old pattern: Self-employment headcount has risen but economic impact remains small

Lawrence Mishel | distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute