Contingent Work in the Late-1990s.

Abstract

Steven Hipple is an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. In February 1999, 5.6 million workers held contingent jobs, that is, jobs that are structured to be short term or temporary. The contingency rate—the proportion of total employment composed of contingent workers—was 4.3 percent. Both the number of contingent workers and the contingency rate were virtually the same as those in the 1997 survey. The fact that both the number of individuals with contingent jobs and the contingency rate were little different is interesting, because the period covered by the two surveys was one of strong labor market conditions. For example, total employment grew by 4.8 million over the two periods, and the unemployment rate—at 5.3 percent in February 1997—had fallen to 4.4 percent in February 1999. (See chart 1.) This article discusses the results of the February 1999 Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements Supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS), including an examination of the characteristics of contingent workers and the jobs they hold, and their earnings and employee benefits. Information on contingent work was first collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in February 1995, and when the results of that survey were published, three alternative measures of contingent work were introduced. (See the appendix.) The analysis in this article focuses on the broadest measure of contingent work—estimate 3. Noncontingent workers, employed individuals who do not fall under any of the estimates of contingent work, are used as a point of comparison. Prior analyses have shown that the characteristics of workers in contingent and noncontingent employment arrangements differ substantially. The incidence of contingent work is higher among certain demographic groups, for instance, and in certain industries and occupations. Moreover, the groups differ by other characteristics including employee tenure and work schedules. Disentangling the impact of these differences on earnings or employee benefits, for example, can be very complicated. Using descriptive statistics, this article provides an overview of contingent workers in 1999.