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The American Worker - The Changing Workplace

Working from Home

The number of people working from home increased greatly in the early twenty-first century. A 2003 survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 21,000 workers found that one in five employed persons did some or all of their work at home. With technological advances such as the Internet access, e-mail, and teleconferencing, working at a remote location was made a viable option for many types

65 years and over
65 to 74 years
Total 65 years and over Total 65 to 69 years 70 to 74 years 75 and over Mean age of householder
SOURCE: "HINC-02. Age of Householder–Households, by Total Money Income in 2003, Type of Household, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder," in Current Population Survey, 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, U.S. Census Bureau, June 25, 2004, http://ferret.bls.census.gov/macro/032004/hhinc/new02_001.htm (accessed January 4, 2005)
All races
Total 23,048 11,499 6,121 5,377 11,550 49.0
Under $2,500 392 164 84 79 229 45.5
$2,500 to $4,999 271 133 60 73 138 45.5
$5,000 to $7,499 852 349 176 173 503 52.4
$7,500 to $9,999 1,702 677 320 357 1,024 58.5
$10,000 to $12,499 1,911 639 280 359 1,273 57.9
$12,500 to $14,999 1,684 623 314 309 1,060 57.2
$15,000 to $17,499 1,575 646 311 335 929 54.3
$17,500 to $19,999 1,380 594 306 288 785 54.6
$20,000 to $22,499 1,183 526 260 265 657 50.5
$22,500 to $24,999 1,117 539 245 294 578 52.3
$25,000 to $27,499 1,003 458 235 223 545 50.4
$27,500 to $29,999 860 469 237 232 391 50.2
$30,000 to $32,499 727 401 217 185 326 46.5
$32,500 to $34,999 659 336 157 179 323 49.6
$35,000 to $37,499 616 352 192 160 263 46.7
$37,500 to $39,999 568 337 175 161 231 48.7
$40,000 to $42,499 536 314 172 143 222 46.7
$42,500 to $44,999 441 238 139 99 203 47.2
$45,000 to $47,499 382 257 143 114 125 45.7
$47,500 to $49,999 398 256 151 105 142 47.7
$50,000 to $52,499 346 208 118 90 137 45.1
$52,500 to $54,999 284 182 119 63 103 46.7
$55,000 to $57,499 322 191 118 73 131 46.5
$57,500 to $59,999 235 153 85 68 82 46.3
$60,000 to $62,499 239 145 102 43 94 44.9
$62,500 to $64,999 227 157 103 54 70 47.1
$65,000 to $67,499 215 121 71 50 94 45.9
$67,500 to $69,999 197 113 79 34 84 46.4
$70,000 to $72,499 166 114 70 44 52 45.1
$72,500 to $74,999 139 89 51 38 51 46.8
$75,000 to $77,499 166 118 64 54 48 45.9
$77,500 to $79,999 118 80 54 26 38 45.8
$80,000 to $82,499 121 81 40 41 40 44.7
$82,500 to $84,999 83 54 28 26 28 46.3
$85,000 to $87,499 113 72 49 23 41 45.2
$87,500 to $89,999 84 61 32 29 23 47.0
$90,000 to $92,499 100 66 35 30 34 45.8
$92,500 to $94,999 75 50 30 20 26 46.9
$95,000 to $97,499 103 74 45 29 29 45.7
$97,500 to $99,999 88 52 32 20 36 47.2
$100,000 and over 1,371 1,010 620 389 362 47.6
Median income dollars 23,787 29,640 32,746 26,744 19,470 (X)
Standard error dollars 181 305 607 438 183 (X)
Mean income dollars 36,893 44,166 48,200 39,575 29,652 (X)
Standard error dollars 351 521 796 641 460 (X)
Gini ratio 0.478 0.470 0.468 0.466 0.460 (X)
Standard error 0.0063 0.0085 0.0115 0.0125 0.0094 (X)
B-Cell 1,140 1,140 1,140 1,140 1,140 (X)
Income per household member 21,391 23,373 24,799 21,647 19,003 (X)
Standard error 241 339 501 447 344 (X)
Total persons in households 39,751 21,729 11,897 9,831 18,022 (X)

of jobs. As employees conduct much of their daily work from home offices, employers are able to save on operating costs. Many employers will pay for computers, additional telephone lines, and even utilities to allow their employees to work from home offices. This allows them to reduce office space, one of the higher costs for an employer, especially in large metropolitan markets.

Self-employment

Approximately 9.5 million people were self-employed in 2003. The numbers indicate that self-employment rates will far exceed predictions made back in 1997, when the number of self-employed people was expected to reach 11.6 million by the year 2006. Between 2001 and 2003, 567,000 people began working for themselves, a 6% increase.

TABLE 6.3

Earnings, by education level, 2003
[Numbers in thousands. People 25 years old and over as of March of the following year. A.O.I.C. stands for alone or in combination]
College
High school Bachelor's degree or more
Total Less than 9th grade 9th to 12th nongrad Graduate (incl GED) Some college no degree Associate degree Total Bachelor's degree Master's degree Professional degree Doctorate degree
SOURCE: "PINC-03. Educational Attainment–People 25 Years Old and Over, by Total Money Earnings in 2003, Work Experience in 2003, Age, Race, Hispanic Origin, and Sex," in Current Population Survey, 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, U.S. Census Bureau, June 25, 2004, http://ferret.bls.census.gov/macro/032004/perinc/new03_001.htm (accessed January 4, 2005)
Both sexes
25 years and over
All races
Total 186,876 11,747 15,999 59,811 31,808 15,764 51,749 33,766 12,608 2,952 2,422
Without earnings 58,562 7,105 7,963 21,141 8,521 3,338 10,494 7,005 2,431 571 487
With earnings 128,315 4,641 8,035 38,670 23,287 12,426 41,255 26,762 10,177 2,382 1,935
$1 to $2,499 or loss 4,936 301 546 1,696 957 401 1,035 749 227 30 29
$2,500 to $4,999 3,417 213 355 1,180 668 274 728 518 175 20 15
$5,000 to $7,499 4,239 289 458 1,472 786 357 877 597 217 30 33
$7,500 to $9,999 3,723 248 385 1,399 740 273 679 480 154 21 24
$10,000 to $12,499 6,284 531 785 2,327 1,094 541 1,006 703 239 28 37
$12,500 to $14,999 3,845 363 533 1,410 717 324 498 364 108 18 8
$15,000 to $17,499 6,555 568 789 2,445 1,200 585 969 700 218 30 22
$17,500 to $19,999 4,443 333 497 1,726 768 365 754 566 129 35 24
$20,000 to $22,499 7,430 457 696 2,842 1,435 650 1,350 1,026 228 53 44
$22,500 to $24,999 4,516 214 340 1,774 886 467 835 647 139 25 24
$25,000 to $27,499 7,307 262 484 2,842 1,439 860 1,420 1,139 219 43 20
$27,500 to $29,999 3,598 90 213 1,365 778 396 756 590 138 11 17
$30,000 to $32,499 8,584 199 485 2,953 1,779 942 2,226 1,654 426 86 61
$32,500 to $34,999 2,541 60 115 823 539 330 674 481 156 17 20
$35,000 to $37,499 6,186 113 260 1,966 1,236 664 1,947 1,397 436 60 54
$37,500 to $39,999 2,650 24 99 821 554 293 859 626 202 19 13
$40,000 to $42,499 6,842 100 267 2,027 1,335 775 2,339 1,589 600 70 80
$42,500 to $44,999 1,885 14 43 540 392 217 680 462 177 30 11
$45,000 to $47,499 4,123 66 110 1,103 775 497 1,573 1,065 410 40 57
$47,500 to $49,999 1,916 12 32 476 397 242 757 491 211 24 32
$50,000 to $52,499 5,195 48 126 1,290 996 591 2,144 1,384 564 100 96
$52,500 to $54,999 1,251 5 29 274 217 160 566 352 188 7 19
$55,000 to $57,499 2,432 26 51 499 451 273 1,132 720 344 35 33
$57,500 to $59,999 899 1 23 164 171 115 425 267 129 11 17
$60,000 to $62,499 3,527 30 85 687 571 385 1,770 1,186 448 59 77
$62,500 to $64,999 673 3 6 128 105 79 353 193 135 15 10
$65,000 to $67,499 1,835 5 37 335 330 203 926 548 300 37 41
$67,500 to $69,999 677 0 12 146 94 75 350 215 107 5 22
$70,000 to $72,499 2,156 7 25 395 318 169 1,242 745 343 83 71
$72,500 to $74,999 430 7 10 53 54 41 266 133 92 12 30
$75,000 to $77,499 1,547 5 24 222 236 157 903 538 237 62 65
$77,500 to $79,999 435 4 9 86 43 30 263 147 82 13 20
$80,000 to $82,499 1,485 14 23 204 184 95 965 577 267 77 44
$82,500 to $84,999 348 0 4 59 39 26 221 115 67 20 19
$85,000 to $87,499 886 0 4 104 119 71 588 328 174 38 48
$87,500 to $89,999 235 0 0 31 25 16 162 104 34 13 12
$90,000 to $92,499 984 6 18 98 135 61 667 353 201 57 57
$92,500 to $94,999 183 1 2 24 15 11 131 53 59 11 8
$95,000 to $97,499 491 1 0 48 37 37 369 200 110 32 27
$97,500 to $99,999 161 0 1 19 30 26 85 45 27 4 9
$100,000 and over 7,464 24 60 616 644 355 5,765 2,715 1,462 1,001 587
Median earnings (dollars) 31,126 16,657 18,344 25,935 30,250 31,910 46,582 41,800 51,244 82,007 71,050
Mean earnings (dollars) 40,770 19,630 22,200 30,084 35,160 37,482 60,939 53,356 62,820 115,649 88,589
Gini ratio 0.441 0.385 0.403 0.387 0.399 0.375 0.412 0.406 0.384 0.278 0.343
B-Cell 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249 1,249

The steady rise in self-employed Americans can be seen in Figure 6.3. For the purposes of its statistical findings, the Bureau of Labor Statistics counts anyone whose own business is their primary source of income as self-employed, whether or not they are incorporated. The occupations with the most self-employed individuals are managerial operations and sales- and marketing-related activities. In 2002, 54% of self-employed workers with unincorporated businesses were forty-five years of age or older. Of that number, 19.3% were sixty-five or older.

Table 6.9 details the demographic characteristics of self-employed Americans between 1995 and 2002. These characteristics have changed only slightly during the

TABLE 6.4

Health insurance coverage, 2003
SOURCE: "Highlights: Health Insurance Coverage," in Current Population Survey, 2003 to 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplements, U.S. Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/img/incpov03/fig15.jpg (accessed January 4, 2005)
  • The number of people with health insurance coverage increased 1.0 million to 243.3 million in 2003.
  • The number of people without health insurance coverage increased 1.4 million to 45.0 million in 2003.
  • The uninsured rate rose from 15.2 percent in 2002 to 15.6 percent in 2003.
  • The proportion of children without health insurance did not change, remaining at 11.4 percent or 8.4 million in 2003.

seven years in question. Throughout the period, roughly twice as many men were self-employed as women. The vast majority of self-employed people were white, and nearly 45% lived in a suburban area. Roughly 40% had a high school or less education level.

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