Have you ever noticed that we have emerged from recession to ‘jobless recovery’ in every economic downturn the U.S. has suffered since 1990? Indeed, the ‘jobless recovery’ is becoming the norm.

Economists speculate that perhaps productivity has generally increased to the point that our economy can drag itself out of a recession, with businesses ramping up production but without the need to hire new workers to meet pent up demand.

Another change that seemed to have caught conventional economists by surprise was that those productivity increases did not result in wage increases.

So, out of the 1990s and into the 21st century, we seem to have an economy that creates fewer jobs for lower wages, and even our benefits packages are costing us more.

This is supposed to get it done for American workers.

And yet, over the same period in which traditional 20th century sources of jobs have largely dried up, you can’t help noticing that there has been a positive explosion of new nonemployer businesses.

From 14.3 million in 1992 (74% of U.S. firms) to 21.7 million in 2007, fifteen years later. They have increased in number by 51.7%; employer firms don’t even come close.

If these trends continue, then it would appear that we are on the cusp of a fairly gigantic shift in the way individuals interact with the production end of the economy.

I hope this special commentary provides a little food for thought, to go along with the backyard barbecue, and I hope you enjoyed your last weekend holiday of the summer!