While the Job Market Struggles, Temp Is Booming

Mark J. Perry submits: The overall job market might be struggling to recover from the recession, but there’s one sector of the labor market that’s doing quite well: temporary, freelance and contract employment. Since September of last year, total private-sector employment has increased by 593,000 jobs (data here), and temporary jobs have accounted for 404,200 (or 68.2%) of that increase (data here), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (see chart above). In other words, more than two out of every three jobs added by private employers in the last year have been temporary, freelance or contract workers. A front page USA Today story explains how this recent trend towards increased reliance on temporary and freelance workers is helping companies cope with a fragile recovery and oscillating demand, while at the same time offering workers the advantages of more flexibility and independence: Across the nation, many companies are shifting to a more flexible workforce populated by temporary workers, contractors and freelancers, loosening the bond between businesses and employees. The firms, aiming to become more nimble and cut costs, want to boost or cut staffing to meet fluctuating demand or deploy workers with specialized skills for short-term projects.Complete Story »