The self-employed are back at work in pre-COVID-19 numbers, but their businesses have smaller payrolls

The more than 150 million workers in the United States include about 16 million workers who identify as self-employed. They work for profit or fees in their own enterprises and are a representation of America’s small business owners. Many also create jobs for other workers, on the order of about 30 million in recent years.

A new Pew Research Center analysis of government data finds that the COVID-19 recession, which curtailed business operations for public health reasons, had a similar impact on employment levels among both those who are and are not self-employed....