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Official unemployment rate always puzzle me.
For example. Trucking industry magazines were telling that there is 30% drop in trucks on road last winter. They were telling it well before reality sank into Wall Street. It is well known fact that first to suffer in trucking industry are small business owners, one truck owners-operators. Most of them are self-employers and, as such, are not eligible for unemployment benefits. Here we see 30 % shrink in one of the largest US industry, and, surprise, there is no hint of it in official numbers …
Another example? My girlfriend is graphic/web designer. She is a small fish, nothing fancy. She always worked as a contractor, getting her 1099 tax form. She lost her job twice last year, settling for small one time contracts now and about 70% drop in income. She is not eligible for unemployment benefits.
I just wonder, with all shift toward part-time contractor jobs in recent years and service based economic, how many people in work force are not eligible for unemployment benefits?
Between my friends there are many. I am not typical – I’m immigrant, or am I?
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