---
title: "How Associations Can Help the Self-Employed"
id: "13470"
type: "post"
slug: "how-associations-can-help-the-self-employed"
published_at: "2012-09-25T21:00:48+00:00"
modified_at: "2012-09-25T21:00:48+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/09/25/how-associations-can-help-the-self-employed/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2012/09/25/how-associations-can-help-the-self-employed.md"
excerpt: "They may be their own bosses, but the self-employed — a quickly growing segment of the population — could use a support system."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Advocacy"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "Career Support"
  - "Membership"
  - "Self-Employed"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Association CEO / Executive Director"
  - "Executive Team"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

[Home](https://associationsnow.com/)
 » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/)
 » How Associations Can Help the Self-Employed

Is your association serving the “Gig Economy”?

A growing number of people are choosing to strike out on their own as temporary or freelance workers. According to a July report by Economic Modeling Specialists International, there are an estimated 10.6 million self-employed workers in the United States, a 14.4 percent jump since 2001.

[More info from ESMI (opens in a new tab)](http://www.economicmodeling.com/2012/07/18/characteristics-of-the-self-employed/)
 on the self-employed:

- **Characteristics:** Nearly 30 percent of self-employed workers are 55 and over, with over 1 million of those workers over the age of 65. Another 28.2 percent are 45-54.
- **Pay:** Self-employed workers make less than half as much as the average worker — $26,921 per year vs. $56,053.
- **Industries:** Despite the common misconception, it’s not just people working out of coffee shops. The most common fields for self-employment include admininstrative services (landscaping, janitorial services), agriculture (farming, fishing, and forestry) and construction (carpentry and hard labor). Professionals make up 11 percent of the self-employed.

What can associations offer these workers? Support.

As Bloomberg Businessweek’s [Richard Greenwald points out (opens in a new tab)](http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-09-10/dont-ignore-those-non-job-creating-entrepreneurs)
, those who work for themselves face struggles on multiple fronts, lacking such wage-earner benefits as workers’ compensation insurance, tax breaks, and Department of Labor mediation in wage disputes (a common issue for freelancers).

They also shoulder a lot of risk that traditional employees may not — which may put them in danger of failure or hardship without a support system.

While some associations exist to specifically address their concerns — most notably [Freelancers Union (opens in a new tab)](http://www.freelancersunion.org/)
 and the [National Association for the Self-Employed (opens in a new tab)](http://www.nase.org/BenefitsHome.aspx)
, which both offer healthcare services and benefits for self-employed workers — is there room for these kinds of workers in your own association?

(TMG archive photo)

[Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/)

Tags: [#Career Support](https://associationsnow.com/tag/career-support/)
 [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/)
 [#Self-Employed](https://associationsnow.com/tag/self-employed/)

**Stay Informed**

[Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/)
, *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day.

## You Might Like

- [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/)
- [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/)
- [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/)
- [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/)

## Comments

**Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/)

[Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2012%2F09%2F25%2Fhow-associations-can-help-the-self-employed%2F%23comments)
 to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/)
!