A growing number of Americans have given up traditional jobs for more flexible work, including 20 million who telecommute and 10 million independent contractors, a business group said Thursday.
Using statistics from several sources, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said a more entrepreneurial work force was emerging as Americans leveraged the nation’s strong job market to shift the balance between their jobs and personal lives.
“A growing number of Americans are seeking work arrangements that offer greater income potential, more flexibility in work schedules and a better balance between career and family,” said Thomas Donohue, president of the chamber.
The report showed one in six U.S. employees work from home at least once a week. Seventy percent of those telecommuters work for others, while 30 percent are self-employed, the chamber said, citing data from the Economic Policy Foundation.
Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed there were 25 million part-time workers and 10 million independent contractors. Some 10 million workers are self-employed and there are 24 million small businesses — 18 million of which are sole proprietorships with no employees, the report showed.
Direct selling for companies like Avon and Amway is done by 17 million Americans, often in addition to a regular job, it said, using data from the Direct Selling Association.
The Chamber said some people may fall into more than one category — such as a self-employed person who telecommutes or a part-time worker who also sells Avon products from home.
Gauging the extent of the non-traditional work force has stymied many economists because the most reliable measure of U.S. employment is based on a survey by the U.S. Labor Department of non-farm payrolls — records kept by employers in traditional workplaces.
That monthly payrolls count shows some 135 million jobs exist in the United States, while a separate survey of U.S. households shows 144 million people are working.
The gap between the two government reports has been seized on by some as evidence that an increasing number of people are employed as independent contractors — and thus not showing up on the official payroll count of jobs.
The Chamber of Commerce said that, far from being forced into self-employment against their wishes, 82 percent of the independent contractors said they preferred their arrangement to traditional employment.
“Moreover, independent contractors tend to be older, highly educated people who work in relatively high-paying management, business, and financial operations occupations,” it said. ”Six-figure incomes among these contractors are not uncommon.”
