The U.S. counts unemployment as "people who are currently looking for/want a job but do not have one". So anyone who is included in this number is not self-emp

The U.S. counts unemployment as "people who are currently looking for/want a job but do not have one". So anyone who is included in this number is not self-employed or running their own business. The U.S. unemployment number does not count: 1. "Discouraged workers" - people who are no longer looking for a job because they figure they can't get one anyway. 2. Workers underemployed by time - people who work part-time but want a full-time job 3. Workers underemployed by skill - people who have qualifications and experience for a more difficult job than the one they are currently working, i.e. a chemist who stocks shelves at Wal-Mart because the local chemical plant shut down and there's nowhere else to go So even with an unemployment number of 20% (considered disastrously high for most purposes), that doesn't necessarily mean the economy is sweetness and light for the other 80%, either.