A recent posting included a question regarding the make-up of the IT workforce - how many are employees and how many are contractors. A reader was kind enough to provide some data, which I'm making available with his compliments. Thanks, Dave. - Bob Bob, There are two studies from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that will help answer the question "Becoming W2" asked in your Advice Line column. One is a relatively A recent posting included a question regarding the make-up of the IT workforce – how many are employees and how many are contractors. A reader was kind enough to provide some data, which I’m making available with his compliments. Thanks, Dave. – Bob Bob, There are two studies from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that will help answer the question “Becoming W2” asked in your Advice Line column. One is a relatively new study on High Technology Employment, and the other is an updated report on Self-Employment in the US. I’ve attached both reports. Much of this data is based on the Current Population Survey (also referred to as the “household” survey) which serves as the basis of the monthly unemployment rate calculations. A bottom line analysis is that a smaller percentage of the labor force is self-employed and, at least in high tech, it doesn’t look like there will be a lot of opportunities in the near future. The one caution in using projections is that it is based upon current occupations; there may be entirely new occupations that spring up in the next 5-7 years that haven’t been described yet. David J Dahlberg, Manager Current Economic Statistics Group Labor Market Information Division State of California Economic Development Department Technology Industry