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While recent data indicates that tightness in the U.S. labor market may be easing, workers today continue to have remarkably high levels of power and choice in the labor market.
The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally reshaped many workers’ relationships to their jobs. Lockdowns early in the pandemic sparked massive layoffs, and ongoing issues like concerns about health and safety or availability of child care made it difficult for many to return to work. Desires for improved working conditions, better pay and benefits, or roles more aligned with peoples’ lifestyles or professional interests eventually set off unprecedented mobility in the labor market, now commonly known as the Great Resignation.
Today, labor force participation rates continue to trail pre-pandemic levels. Job quits remain historically high after reaching a record of three million per month late in 2021. The number of job openings in the U.S. has topped 10 million per month for more than a year. These figures suggest that workers feel they can be selective about what jobs and working conditions they will accept. People today are more willing to take time off to wait for good jobs, or to move on from their current positions for better opportunities.
Under these circumstances, self-employment has proven to be an increasingly popular choice for many workers. Self-employment often offers more of the qualities that workers want, like more flexibility in schedule or location, and less of the ones they don’t, like feelings of disrespect or lack of opportunity for advancement. As a result, the ranks of the self-employed have grown over the last two and a half years.
In the wake of early COVID-19 lockdowns in March and April 2020, self-employed workers lost jobs at just half the rate of all workers. While total employment did not recover to pre-pandemic levels until March 2022, self-employment briefly bounced back to pre-pandemic levels as soon as August 2020 and has remained above that threshold since May 2021. Today, total employment is just 0.6% greater than it was before COVID-19 hit, while self-employment is up by 5.0%.
Autonomy and flexibility have been significant drivers for self-employment, but self-employment also has the potential to boost workers’ earnings. The median earnings for workers who are self-employed in their own incorporated business over the last 12 months exceed earnings for every other category of workers except federal government employees. Self-employed workers in incorporated businesses earn nearly 30% more than their private industry counterparts, with median earnings of $66,864 and $52,137, respectively.
Job outlooks and earning potential vary by industry, however, so some workers will find conditions for self-employment more favorable than others. One industry that could offer good opportunities is computer and mathematical occupations. These jobs are projected to grow by 15.4% over the next decade and offer median wages of $97,540, figures that each respectively rank second among occupational groupings. Healthcare support offers the greatest projected job growth over the next decade at 17.8%, while management occupations have the highest median wages at $102,450.
A combination of strong wages, high job growth, and low unemployment rates can all signal strong potential for self-employment. By these indicators, people who want to work for themselves have good options in a variety of industries and education levels. But one job that combines the fast-growing health field with the high pay of management work—medical and health services managers—tops the list of promising occupations for the self-employed.
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau. To determine the best occupations for being self-employed, researchers at HireAHelper calculated a composite score based on median annual wage in 2021, projected employment growth from 2021 to 2031, and the average unemployment rate from 2020 and 2021. In the event of a tie, the occupation with the higher median annual wage was ranked higher.
Here are the best occupations for being self-employed.
Best Occupations for Being Self-Employed
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15. Meeting, convention, and event planners
- Composite score: 62.2
- Median annual wage: $49,470
- Projected employment growth: +17.8%
- Unemployment rate: 9.7%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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14. Electricians
- Composite score: 62.8
- Median annual wage: $60,040
- Projected employment growth: +7.1%
- Unemployment rate: 6.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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13. First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers
- Composite score: 63.1
- Median annual wage: $72,010
- Projected employment growth: +4.1%
- Unemployment rate: 3.7%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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12. Private detectives and investigators
- Composite score: 64.0
- Median annual wage: $59,380
- Projected employment growth: +5.6%
- Unemployment rate: 4.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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11. Insurance sales agents
- Composite score: 64.3
- Median annual wage: $49,840
- Projected employment growth: +6.3%
- Unemployment rate: 3.2%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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10. Travel agents
- Composite score: 64.9
- Median annual wage: $43,810
- Projected employment growth: +19.7%
- Unemployment rate: 4.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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9. Food service managers
- Composite score: 66.8
- Median annual wage: $59,440
- Projected employment growth: +9.8%
- Unemployment rate: 5.9%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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8. Producers and directors
- Composite score: 69.9
- Median annual wage: $79,000
- Projected employment growth: +7.7%
- Unemployment rate: 5.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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7. Lodging managers
- Composite score: 70.2
- Median annual wage: $59,430
- Projected employment growth: +18.0%
- Unemployment rate: 8.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: High school diploma or equivalent
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6. Interpreters and translators
- Composite score: 74.2
- Median annual wage: $49,110
- Projected employment growth: +20.2%
- Unemployment rate: 4.8%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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5. Construction managers
- Composite score: 77.6
- Median annual wage: $98,890
- Projected employment growth: +7.6%
- Unemployment rate: 3.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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4. Marketing managers
- Composite score: 78.2
- Median annual wage: $135,030
- Projected employment growth: +9.9%
- Unemployment rate: 5.0%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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3. Management analysts
- Composite score: 81.5
- Median annual wage: $93,000
- Projected employment growth: +11.4%
- Unemployment rate: 3.4%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
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2. Personal financial advisors
- Composite score: 85.5
- Median annual wage: $94,170
- Projected employment growth: +15.4%
- Unemployment rate: 3.2%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
Photo Credit: Monkey Business Images / Shutterstock
1. Medical and health services managers
- Composite score: 97.2
- Median annual wage: $101,340
- Projected employment growth: +28.3%
- Unemployment rate: 1.8%
- Typical education needed for entry: Bachelor’s degree
Detailed Findings & Methodology
The data used in this analysis is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey. To determine the best occupations for being self-employed, researchers at HireAHelper calculated a composite score based on median annual wage in 2021, projected employment growth from 2021 to 2031, and the average unemployment rate from 2020 and 2021. In the event of a tie, the occupation with the higher median annual wage was ranked higher. Only occupations with at least 30,000 employees in the U.S. and a self-employment rate greater than the national average were considered in this analysis.