My column on the benefits of free agency, “Laid off? Here’s a silver lining” ran in this morning’s USA Today. You can read it here.

According to Kelly Services, the proportion of American workers who are “free agents” (freelancers, contractors, small business owners, etc.) has risen from 19% in 2006 to 26% now. You can blame the economy for the spike, though this is part of a long-term trend, as you can see by my recent article on the Promise and Peril of the Freelance Economy in City Journal.

Broadly, though many people do not choose to become self-employed, most like the lifestyle once they are. They report in surveys that they are happier than onther workers. And since, broadly, free agency makes the labor market less sticky, I think this is one of the few upsides coming out of this recession.