Layoff of the Self-Employed

This blog hasn’t shied away from posting about the unnecessary number of layoffs that have occurred in the last several months. There are just too many posts to link to, but regular readers will vouch for me.

A category of employees we haven’t talked about are the self-employed and the impact of our recession on them. Until recently, they have been able to lead a work life of independence, flexibility, easy child care, entrepreneurship, and moderate to high income.These freelancers are yoga teachers, private tutors. gym trainers, personal trainers, massage therapists, drivers, personal chefs, and artists. Most of these folks are well-educated and accustomed to at least a steady middle class lifestyle.

Their numbers were also growing during the last decade. Between 1995-2005, on a national basis, the number of freelancers increased by 27% to nine million workers.

The New York Times reports that these self-employed workers have been hit especially hard by the recession. Some have seen their business dry up almost overnight. Their clients have simply stopped spending money on the services they offer. They find themselves where they’ve never been before: in food stamp lines, out of their apartments, and at a point of loneliness that’s different from employees who’ve been laid off from regular jobs.

Just as it will take time for all of us to recover from the recession, it’ll take time for these freelancers. They miss their flexibility, not to mention their income, but they’re not sure they’ll return to the life of the self-employed. They have learned how terribly vulnerable the self-employed are when the economy heads south.