Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in United States
United States: Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) was 8.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in United States, 1991–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
United States recorded 8.0% for self-employed, male (% of male employment) in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 35 years on record.
The figure is down 2.0% on the previous year and down 14.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, self-employed, male (% of male employment) in United States peaked at 13.1% in 1991 and was at its lowest, 8.0%, in 2025.
United States ranks 177th of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 35 years of available data.
Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate) in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 13.1% | — |
| 1992 | 12.7% | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 12.9% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 12.8% | -0.9% |
| 1995 | 12.4% | -2.7% |
| 1996 | 12.2% | -1.4% |
| 1997 | 12.0% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 11.6% | -3.6% |
| 1999 | 11.2% | -3.4% |
| 2000 | 11.1% | -1.2% |
| 2001 | 10.9% | -1.1% |
| 2002 | 10.8% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 11.0% | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 11.0% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 10.8% | -1.3% |
| 2006 | 10.7% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 10.5% | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 10.3% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 10.4% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 10.3% | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 9.9% | -3.5% |
| 2012 | 9.8% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 9.6% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 9.4% | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 9.3% | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 9.2% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 9.0% | -2.1% |
| 2018 | 9.1% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 8.8% | -2.8% |
| 2020 | 8.4% | -4.2% |
| 2021 | 8.7% | +3.4% |
| 2022 | 8.3% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 8.0% | -3.0% |
| 2024 | 8.1% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 8.0% | -2.0% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 8.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 16.6%, 48% of the median. (62 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 12.3% | 11.2% | 13.1% | 9 |
| 2000s | 10.7% | 10.3% | 11.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.4% | 8.8% | 10.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.3% | 8.0% | 8.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More work & labour data for United States
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 113,208 (2027)
- Labour force participation rate (ILO modelled estimates) 61.24 (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) 178,849 (2027)
- Unemployment rate (ILO modelled estimates) 4.4 (2027)
- Labour dependency ratio 1.05 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2021 international $ at PPP 159,991 (2027)
- Output per worker, GDP constant 2015 US $ 141,322 (2027)
- Employment-to-population ratio (ILO modelled estimates) 58.55 (2027)
- Persons outside the labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+) 1.27 % change on previous year (2027)
- Labour force (ILO modelled estimates) (15+), annual growth rate 0.3372 % change on previous year (2027)
Frequently asked questions
- What is self-employed, male (% of male employment) in United States?
- Self-employed, male (% of male employment) in United States was 8.0% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 13.1% in 1991.
- What is the lowest self-employed, male (% of male employment) recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.0% in 2025.
- How does United States rank for self-employed, male (% of male employment)?
- United States ranks 177th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is self-employed, male (% of male employment) rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 14.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Self-employed, male (% of male employment) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Self-employed workers are those workers who, working on their own account or with one or a few partners or in cooperative, hold the type of jobs defined as a "self-employment jobs." i.e. jobs where the remuneration is directly dependent upon the profits derived from the goods and services produced. Self-employed workers include sub-categories of employers, own-account workers and members of producers' cooperatives and contributing family workers.