While reports are still mixed, it does appear as though the economy is beginning to stabilize.  The unemployment rate may not be declining, but it is no longer increasing, either.

According to Dave Carpenter, on 2/22: Economists expect the recovery to remain "firmly on track" over the next two years though job growth is likely to remain slow, according to a new survey.  The latest outlook from The National Association for Business Economics, set to be released Monday, sees regular job gains resuming this quarter but no drop in unemployment below 9 percent for another year.

Even as the unemployment rate begins to stabilize, we are seeing exciting trends.  The American entrepreneurial spirit, it appears, is alive and well.  When faced with high unemployment, people are finding ways to create alternate income streams.

The Elance blog posted the following on February 18th: “Consider this piece of data from the Labor Department’s recent report: the number of self-employed Americans grew by 126,000 in the last quarter. Add to that another telling statistic: the number of temporary jobs has increased by 250,000 in the last quarter….Our so-called jobless recovery is nothing more than an illusion. What we are experiencing is a long-predicted structural change in the job market. In the span of a single generation, we’ve gone from “company man” to being our own man or woman, thanks, in part by, to advances in computer and telecommunications technology.”

It is the growth in small businesses and increased utilization of contract resources that will likely fuel the bulk of the recovery over the next few years.  These new companies will rely more heavily on new technologies and social media than their predecessors.  Use of on-line document storage such as Quickbase and collaborative document review features like Google Documents, for example, will allow more employees to work productively from home.  Likewise, social media reliance will increase as a means of communicating with employees and customers alike and at a reduced cost. 

Dependence on part time and contract workers will also continue to grow.  As these entrepreneurs build their businesses, they will reach levels of sophistication requiring access to knowledge and experienced personnel.  They will not likely have access to sufficient working capital or investment dollars, however, to bring in full time qualified employees. 

The recession does indeed seem to be facilitating structural changes in the job market.  The combination of high unemployment and increased access to contract labor will enable new small businesses to acquire necessary resources at a much lower cost, and on an as needed basis.  Hopefully the end result will be higher success rates for new businesses coupled with overall improvements in employment – however you measure it.