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The experts at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) claim the recession is over, ending in June 2009. Of course they still have jobs. It took over a year to figure this out; their report was released on September 20, 2010.

Though the recession is officially over, the unemployment rate is hanging tough at 9.6% with around 460,000 new claims for unemployment benefits every week, says the U.S. Department of Labor. So it's not surprising an NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey released September 28, 2010 says 70% of Americans believe we are still in a recession. I guess it's a matter of perspective.

I've been writing for over 30 years, but until recently I didn't consider myself a freelancer. Then in May of 2010 I lost my job. Talk about a change of perspective. So which was it to be, unemployed or freelance? They're certainly not the same thing, though there are enough similarities to render the phrase "unemployed freelancer" redundant.

Unemployed and Freelance Defined

Merriam-Webster defines the terms.

Unemployed: not engaged in a gainful occupation

Freelance: a person who pursues a profession without a long-term commitment to any one employer

Both terms, or states of being, lack a commitment to any one employer. I had that part down cold. What is missing from the definition of "unemployed", at least how we, and the government and people like the wunderkinds at NBER are using the term, is the slightest implication of previous engagement "in a gainful occupation". To receive unemployment insurance benefits, that's the major prerequisite.

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