Three in Ten U.S. Jobs Held by Self-Employed and Their Hires

Washington, DC, October 23, 2015— Self-employed Americans and the workers they hired accounted for 44 million jobs in 2014, or 30% of the national workforce, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of data the U.S. Census Bureau recently made publicly available for the first time.

The self-employed, 14.6 million in all, represented 10% of the nation’s 146 million workers, and they in turn provided jobs for 29.4 million other workers.

The share of American workers who are self-employed has decreased, from 12.2% in 1994, the most recent peak, to 10% in 2014. However, in a countervailing trend, there has been a shift toward incorporated businesses, which are more likely than unincorporated businesses to have paid employees. The share of workers who are self-employed and have incorporated businesses rose from 2.9% in 1990 to 3.7% in 2014, and the share of workers who are unincorporated fell from 8.5% in 1990 to 6.3% in 2014.

Along with the decline in the self-employment rate, there has been a decrease in the share of the self-employed who provide jobs for others. Among unincorporated self-employed workers, 21% reported having at least one paid employee in 1995, compared with 13% in 2014. The share of the self-employed who own incorporated businesses and have paid employees is also down, from about 60% in 2001 to 41% now.