Under normal circumstances, or at least any time before the spring of 2020, the short answer to that question would have been “Not really.”
Then COVID-19 happened, and with it, trillions in federal government aid and financial protection affected the way unemployment benefits were distributed for self-employed workers.
Some of that coronavirus aid went to the CARES Act, which funded unemployment programs like the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. Self-employed people were eligible for PUA, meaning states could pay benefits to gig workers, independent contractors, and other self-employed people out of work for up to 39 weeks, giving them an extra $600-per-week.
