Women constitute about two-thirds of those misclassified as jobless, and almost half of the people are 15 to 24 years old, according to the report. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The hardest people to pin down in America's labor market may be the gig workers: How many hours do they put in, where, and just how many are out there?
The Labor Department, in a report Wednesday, said there are a lot more than thought: at least 657,000 and as many as 4.6 million more people earning income but not counted as employed, according to an analysis of data spanning 2012 to 2016. Their labor — which includes babysitting, basket weaving, and listing items online for sale — if counted as jobs, would increase total employment by between 0.4 percent and 3 percent.
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