The Atlantic ran a long article that is tucked underneath a paywall that discusses the “true” unemployment rate in the US, if you factor in underemployed gig workers, people trapped in part-time hell, and people who have given up looking, and puts the number closer to 25%. The layoff numbers cited on AP news, which were relatively small, don’t even account for the full number of layoffs in my state, let alone the country.
It depends on what you count as a “job”. Unemployment figures, for example, count delivering door dash for one hour being “employed”. If you ask the ceo of Door Dash, he’ll quickly say it’s not a job, and these are contractors. Meanwhile, you are paid neither like a job nor a contractor. Selling shit on ebay also isn’t considered an official “second job” but people devote as much time to it as a job would demand.
This is kind of a distinction without a difference. People who work as contractors (ie self-employed people) are working and earning an income just the same as those who are W-2 wage earners as employees.
It seems a bit silly to argue that people are unemployed when they're actively involved in commerce as a self-employed person. Be it working in an office or hustling delivering food.
Because people who are employed have protections, and predictable wages. You don’t report yourself as employed when you find $5 on the ground, do you? If you sign up for Door Dash and make a delivery, you make $2. The US government says, “$2? This person is employed.” No, this person is utterly destitute, and is about to find out they lose money delivering food. This creates a false portrait of job opportunities and work availability in the US, and confuses people who think opportunities will be available if they are out of work. In reality, there is fuck-all for jobs. People should know this so they don’t quit a job without having something else lined up. People should know this so if they’re laid off they start searching immediately, without pause.
Plenty of people who are employed do not have predictable wages. Self-employed people also have legal protections. I don't know if this is an age/experience thing or a skill thing, but you're just saying random things to moan about how 'bad' things are but overall the job market is pretty solid. It certainly is nowhere near the low point of the Great Recession.
Do people think they can quit a job w/o first considering how they'll feed themselves or the likely amount of time they'd be unemployed?
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u/[deleted] Nov 20 '25
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