According to the U.S. Census Pulse Survey of Households. over the 10 weeks the surveys have been conducted (they started the end of April) the number of self-employed Americans has increased from 13.5 million to 15.2 million.
This is an increase of 12.7%.
During this period, the number of traditional jobs increased by only 1.2%.
The pulse surveys are short, weekly surveys designed to track how households are doing during the pandemic.
It's important to note that the Census started these surveys after the first wave of pandemic related layoffs, which is why the overall numbers are slightly higher over the 10 weeks.
Had they started these surveys before the pandemic, the most recent traditional employment numbers would be about 12.5% lower than when the pandemic started.
But the most recent self-employment numbers would only be about 4% lower.
What's interesting about this data is during prior recessions self-employment fell faster and deeper - and recovered more slowly - than traditional employment.
This time it may be that self-employment is declining less than traditional employment and recovering more quickly.
It's still way too early to draw any conclusions from this data. And even if this is happening, it will take more research to understand why.
But it's at least a potential bit of good news at a time when good news is hard to come by.
