Self Employment Levels in the United States at Around 10.5%

Self employment in the United States has been at around 10.5% of the employed labor force for decades.

But today, it stands at around 10.5%.

That is, the number of self employed as a percentage of the employed really hasn't changed much in decades.

The Self Employed group tends to lean a little heavier in the direction of White or Asian Men, and as a group we have more than the national average of people with less than a high school diploma in our ranks.

This all, of course, runs counter to what I had been hoping for and expecting from 2009 and 2010. I was hoping and expecting those numbers to be higher and more diverse.

In general the numbers run counter to anecdotal experience, where many of the individuals I've known who could not find work ended up working on their own.