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Looking through the Gallup polls on employment and the job market I came across some interesting statistics and how Americans feel about the current job market. The numbers for underemployment haven't changed at all over last year and still hover around 18 1/2 %. Job creation also remains flat and probably will stay that way for a while.

Some other statistics I read about are also pretty gloomy. Nine out of ten Americans think it's a bad time to find a good job, and their perception of the job market is the worst in a decade. This would help to explain another statistic. 71% of Americans are not engaged in their work. In other words, they are emotionally disconnected from their jobs. This means they are also more likely to be more unproductive at work.

That's a total switch from 1987 when the same percentage of people were happy with their jobs. That's when the Conference Board Research Group started calculating this data.

These days fewer people find their jobs interesting and are therefore less likely to be creative or innovative at work. Many find that there is no sense of teamwork and more competition among co-workers. That will kind of suck the fun out of the room when you're always looking over your shoulder to see who's going to get the axe and who will get the promotion, if anyone.

Also, the fact that more people are being laid off means that the bulk of their work is divided among the ones left standing and that means longer hours. People who still have a job are now worried that they will lose it.

Studies have shown that entrepreneurs are happier than employees even when they make far less money and work far more hours. Entrepreneurs don't have to worry about being fired, though they do have other things to worry about, like making sure they have enough work every month to pay the bills. When they don't work, they don't get paid. And health insurance is a big expense for the self employed.

The non profit organization The National Federation of Independent Business that tracks start ups found that people are happier when they are working a job that they enjoy. That could be an entrepreneur or an employee. There are plusses and minuses with each one. But doing something you enjoy will give you the motivation to work harder and will give you more overall satisfaction in general.