Anecdotal, but I started my consulting biz in 2010, when unemployment had peaked at 10% during the Great Recession. It was an incredible time to be a contracto

Anecdotal, but I started my consulting biz in 2010, when unemployment had peaked at 10% during the Great Recession. It was an incredible time to be a contractor because companies still had work to do, but were gun shy about hiring, so many of them relied on contractors to help out. I had more gig offers than I could accept. It wasn't until a few years ago, when tech companies started their massive hiring sprees that contracting gigs really started to dry up. So while yes contractors tend to get the axe first in a downturn, at the end of the downturn it can be a lucrative business.