Americans increasingly quit their jobs during the pandemic to become entrepreneurs and their own bosses, The Wall Street Journal reported Nov. 29.
The number of unincorporated self-employed workers has climbed from nearly 8.8 million in March 2020 to more than 9.4 million in October 2021, according to Labor Department data. For comparison purposes, that number was 9.2 million in March 2008, during the financial crisis, and 8.7 million in March 2019.
Interest in entrepreneurship has grown, too. From January through October 2021, entrepreneurs applied for federal tax-identification numbers to register more than 4.5 million new businesses, according to Census Bureau data examined in the report. That's a 56 percent increase compared to the same period of 2019.
The change comes as 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, up from 4.3 million the month prior, and as more people are seeking flexibility or escape from office life, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Josh Dorgan is one example. Mr. Dorgan told the newspaper he was working as a pediatric nurse at Children's Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, Neb., while trading cryptocurrencies, but quit his hospital job in August 2020 to focus solely on investing. He told the newspaper his trading profits the week after he quit equaled his previous full-year salary.
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