 InternationalLabour Office |
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Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, February 1997United States Bureau of Labour Statistics Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, February
1997 Technical Note TECHNICAL NOTEThe proportion of U.S. workers who hold contingent jobs--basically those jobs that are not expected to last--declined slightly in the 2 years between February 1995 and February 1997, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. Using three alternative estimates (table A), contingent workers accounted for 1.9 to 4.4 percent of all employment in February 1997; the range was 2.2 to 4.9 percent in February 1995. The analysis in this release is focused on the broadest estimate of contingent workers. During this 2-year period, there was little change in the proportions of the employed who had alternative work arrangements--the 6.7 percent (8.5 million workers) who were identified as independent contractors, the 1.6 percent (2.0 million workers) who were on-call workers, the 1.0 percent (1.3 million workers) who worked for temporary help agencies, and the 0.6 percent (800,000 workers) who worked for contract firms. Alternative employment arrangements were identified separately from the contingency of a job, and the proportions of employees in alternative arrangements who considered their employment to be contingent ranged from less than 4 percent for independent contractors to about 57 percent for temporary help agency workers. The findings on the characteristics of workers in contingent jobs and in alternative work arrangements in February 1997 were similar to those in the first survey 2 years before. The data were collected as a supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 50,000 households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for BLS. A description of the concepts and definitions used in the supplement is presented in the Technical Note beginning on page 6. Some of the highlights of the February 1997 survey follow. A total of 5.6 million workers held a contingent job under the broadest estimate. They were younger than other workers; persons under the age of 25 made up about 30 percent of contingent workers, compared with about 13 percent of noncontingent workers. Contingent workers also were more likely than noncontingent workers to be female. About 43 percent of contingent workers were employed part time (less than 35 hours a week), compared with only 18 percent of noncontingent workers. Only 10 percent of all part-time workers were contingent, however. Characteristics of workers in alternative arrangements varied widely. Independent contractors tended to be middle-aged men, for example, while temporary help agency workers tended to be younger women. The majority (56 percent) of contingent workers would have preferred a permanent job. Table A. Contingent workers and workers in alternative arrangements as a percent of total employment, February 1997 -----------------------------------------------------------------
|Percent of
Definition and alternative estimates | total
of contingent workers | employed
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Contingent workers are those who do not have an
implicit or explicit contract for ongoing employ-
ment. Persons who do not expect to continue in
their jobs for personal reasons such as retirement
or returning to school are not considered contin-
gent workers, provided that they would have the
option of continuing in the job were it not for
these personal reasons.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Estimate 1 |
|
Wage and salary workers who expect their jobs will|
last for an additional year or less and who had |
worked at their jobs for 1 year or less. Self- |
employed workers and independent contractors are |
excluded from the estimate. For temporary help |
and contract workers, contingency is based on the |
expected duration and tenure of their employment |
with the temporary help or contract firm, not with|
the specific client to whom they were assigned | 1.9
|
Estimate 2 |
|
Workers including the self-employed and indepen- |
dent contractors who expect their employment to |
last for an additional year or less and who had |
worked at their jobs (or been self-employed) for 1|
year or less. For temporary help and contract |
workers, contingency is determined on the basis of|
the expected duration and tenure with the client |
to whom they are assigned, instead of their tenure|
with the temporary help or contract firm. | 2.4
|
Estimate 3 |
|
Workers who do not expect their jobs to last. Wage|
and salary workers are included even if they |
already had held the job for more than 1 year and |
expect to hold the job for at least an additional |
year. The self-employed and independent |
contractors are included if they expect their |
employment to last for an additional year or less |
and they had been self-employed or independent |
contractors for 1 year or less. | 4.4
|
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Type of alternative arrangement |
--------------------------------------------------|
|
Independent contractors |
Workers who were identified as independent |
contractors, independent consultants, or free- |
lance workers, whether they were self-employed or |
wage and salary workers. | 6.7
|
On-call workers |
Workers who are called to work only as needed, |
although they can be scheduled to work for several|
days or weeks in a row. | 1.6
|
Temporary help agency workers |
Workers who were paid by a temporary help agency, |
whether or not their job was temporary. | 1.0
|
Workers provided by contract firms |
Workers who are employed by a company that |
provides them or their services to others under |
contract, and who are usually assigned to only one|
customer and usually work at the customer's |
worksite. | .6
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The satisfaction of workers in the various alternative employment arrangements varied considerably. For instance, the vast majority (84 percent) of independent contractors were satisfied with their work arrangement, while most (59 percent) temporary help agency workers would have preferred a traditional job. Median weekly earnings of full-time contingent workers were 82 percent of the earnings of noncontingent workers. Among workers in alternative arrangements, persons employed by contract companies had higher earnings than workers in traditional arrangements, while persons employed by temporary help firms and on-call workers earned less. Demographic characteristics of contingent workers The February 1997 survey reported 5.6 million contingent workers under the broadest estimate. (See table 1.) As was the case in the February 1995 survey, contingent workers were more than twice as likely as noncontingent workers to be between the ages of 16 and 24, with many young workers combining contingent employment and school attendance. More than three-fifths of young contingent workers were in school, compared with two-fifths of their noncontingent counterparts. Among 25- to 64-year olds, a higher proportion of contingent than noncontingent workers had graduated from college--36 and 30 percent, respectively. (See table 3.) Slightly more than half of contingent workers were women, compared with 46 percent of noncontingent workers. Blacks accounted for about 11 percent of both contingent and noncontingent workers. (See table 2.) Occupation and industry of contingent workersContingent workers were employed in a wide range of jobs. They were more likely than noncontingent workers to hold professional and administrative support positions and less likely to be in managerial and sales jobs. They also were overrepresented in the services and construction industries. (See table 4.) Job preferences of contingent workersThe majority of contingent workers (56 percent) would have preferred noncontingent jobs; nevertheless, more than one-third of contingent workers preferred their arrangement. (The remainder expressed no clear preference.) (See table 10.) Compensation of contingent workersMedian earnings were lower for contingent workers than for their noncontingent counterparts. Full-time contingent workers’ median earnings ($417) were 82 percent of those of noncontingent workers ($510) in February 1997. (See table 13.) The disparity in median earnings reflects in part differences in the characteristics of contingent and noncontingent workers. Contingent workers also were less likely to receive health insurance from their employers. Only 1 in 5 contingent workers had employer-provided coverage, compared with more than 1 in 2 noncontingent workers. (See table 9.) Although contingent workers were less likely to have health insurance coverage through their jobs, a substantial proportion (two-thirds) had some type of coverage, including those who were covered by family members’ policies or who had purchased coverage on their own. Only about one-fourth of contingent workers were eligible for employer-provided pension plans, compared with nearly one-half of noncontingent workers. (See table 9.) Contingent workers also were less likely to actually participate in employer-provided pension plans--15 versus 44 percent, respectively. Alternative employment arrangementsThe February 1997 supplement also measured the characteristics of workers in four alternative employment arrangements--independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, and workers employed by contract firms. In general, the results of the 1997 survey were very similar to those of the 1995 survey with respect to the numbers and characteristics of these workers. As in the earlier survey, workers in the four groups differed considerably from one another as well as from workers in traditional arrangements. Independent contractorsIndependent contractors, independent consultants, and free-lance workers made up the largest group of workers in alternative employment arrangements. Workers in this group were considerably more likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be men, white, at least 35 years old, and college educated. Specifically, two-thirds of the independent contractors were men, compared with just over one-half of workers in traditional arrangements. Nearly 4 out of 5 were at least 35 years old, compared with 3 out of 5 traditional workers. Fully one-third of independent contractors had a college degree, a higher proportion than traditional workers. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.) Independent contractors were more likely than traditional workers to hold managerial, sales, or precision production jobs. Relatively few were in technical, administrative support, or operator, fabricator, and laborer positions. Independent contractors were overrepresented in the agriculture, construction, and services industries. About 26 percent of them worked part time, compared with about 18 percent of traditional workers. Independent contractors had a stronger preference for their employment arrangement than did workers in the other alternative arrangements, with 84 percent preferring their arrangement over a traditional job. (See tables 6, 8, and 11.) On-call workersOn-call workers, who made up the second largest alternative arrangement, are defined as those who report to work only when called, although they can be scheduled to work for several days or weeks in a row. Demographically, they resembled workers in traditional arrangements, but on-call workers were somewhat younger. They also were more likely to be in professional, service, precision production, and operator, fabricator, and laborer occupations and in the services and construction industries. Nearly 53 percent worked part time, the highest proportion of any employment arrangement. One-half of on-call workers had a preference for a traditional arrangement. (See tables 5, 6, 8, and 11.) Temporary help agency workersWorkers paid by temporary help agencies were more likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be women, young, black, or Hispanic. Eighty percent worked full time. They were heavily concentrated in administrative support and operator, fabricator, and laborer positions and in the services and manufacturing industries. Nearly 60 percent would have preferred a traditional job. (See tables 5, 6, 8, and 11.) Workers provided by contract firmsIndividuals who are employed by companies that provide workers or their services to other companies under contract are in the smallest of the alternative arrangements; these workers are assigned to one customer at a time and perform the work at the customer’s worksite. This group was disproportionately male and nearly one-third had a college degree. Most were assigned to the services, manufacturing, public administration, or transportation and public utilities industries. (See tables 6, 7, and 8.) Compensation of workers in alternative arrangementsAmong workers employed full time, there was wide variation in the median earnings of those in alternative work arrangements relative to one another and to workers in traditional arrangements. In February 1997, median weekly earnings for full-time workers employed by contract companies ($619) were higher than earnings for workers in traditional arrangements ($510), while earnings for independent contractors were about the same ($523), and earnings for on-call workers ($432) and those employed by temporary help agencies ($329) were lower. This pattern held for men; however, women in traditional arrangements outearned women in every alternative arrangement. (See table 13.) The earnings differences between the alternative work arrangements reflect in part the occupational concentration of each arrangement. For example, workers employed by temporary help agencies were more likely to hold administrative support and laborer jobs, which pay lower-than-average wages, in general. In contrast, independent contractors were more likely to be in higher-paying managerial and professional specialty jobs. Compared with workers in traditional arrangements, workers in alternative arrangements (except those employed by a contract company) were less likely to have health insurance coverage from any source at the time of the survey, although coverage rates among the alternative arrangements varied significantly. Temporary help agency workers had the lowest rate of health insurance coverage (only 46 percent had health insurance from any source). In contrast, the coverage rate for contract company workers, 82 percent, was nearly equal to that for workers in traditional arrangements. (See table 9.) Contract company workers also were most likely to receive health insurance coverage from their employers; 1 in 2 received employer-provided health insurance. Among temporary help agency workers, in contrast, only 7 percent had employer-provided health insurance. Nearly three-fifths of workers in traditional arrangements had health insurance coverage through their employer. Workers in alternative arrangements were less likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be eligible for employer-provided pension plans, although, as with health insurance coverage, there was wide variation among the arrangements. Nearly half of contract company workers were eligible for their employer’s pension plan, for example, compared with only 10 percent of temporary help agency workers. Over one-half of workers in traditional arrangements were eligible for employer-provided pensions. (See table 9.) Of the four alternative work arrangements, 36 percent of contract company workers actually participated in an employer-provided pension plan, compared with 19 percent of on-call workers and only 4 percent of temporary help agency workers. By comparison, nearly half of workers in traditional arrangements participated in a pension plan at work. Table 1. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected characteristics, February 1997, in thousands Contingent workers
Characteristic Total employed Noncontingent
workers
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
Age and sex
Total, 16 years and over....... 126,742 2,385 3,096 5,574 121,168
16 to 19 years..................... 6,031 459 494 691 5,340
20 to 24 years..................... 11,958 570 650 999 10,958
25 to 34 years..................... 31,647 565 756 1,381 30,267
35 to 44 years..................... 35,282 417 638 1,163 34,119
45 to 54 years..................... 26,146 199 333 759 25,387
55 to 64 years..................... 12,032 127 166 408 11,625
65 years and over.................. 3,646 49 60 174 3,472
Men, 16 years and over......... 67,931 1,181 1,498 2,746 65,185
16 to 19 years..................... 3,068 226 239 346 2,722
20 to 24 years..................... 6,269 276 304 474 5,795
25 to 34 years..................... 17,185 273 360 686 16,499
35 to 44 years..................... 18,965 196 297 569 18,396
45 to 54 years..................... 13,775 97 155 345 13,430
55 to 64 years..................... 6,558 83 104 213 6,345
65 years and over.................. 2,111 30 38 113 1,998
Women, 16 years and over....... 58,811 1,204 1,599 2,828 55,983
16 to 19 years..................... 2,963 233 255 345 2,619
20 to 24 years..................... 5,689 294 345 526 5,163
25 to 34 years..................... 14,462 292 395 695 13,767
35 to 44 years..................... 16,317 221 341 593 15,724
45 to 54 years..................... 12,371 102 178 414 11,957
55 to 64 years..................... 5,474 44 62 195 5,279
65 years and over.................. 1,535 18 22 61 1,474
Race and Hispanic origin
White.............................. 107,899 1,895 2,494 4,564 103,335
Black.............................. 13,465 318 403 616 12,849
Hispanic origin.................... 12,026 290 396 691 11,336
Full- or part-time status
Full-time workers.................. 102,813 1,275 1,698 3,205 99,608
Part-time workers.................. 23,929 1,111 1,399 2,368 21,560
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of
"contingent" workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will
not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and
Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other
characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Contingent workers
Characteristic Noncontingent
workers
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
Age and sex
Total, 16 years and over....... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
16 to 19 years..................... 19.3 15.9 12.4 4.4
20 to 24 years..................... 23.9 21.0 17.9 9.0
25 to 34 years..................... 23.7 24.4 24.8 25.0
35 to 44 years..................... 17.5 20.6 20.9 28.2
45 to 54 years..................... 8.3 10.8 13.6 21.0
55 to 64 years..................... 5.3 5.4 7.3 9.6
65 years and over.................. 2.0 1.9 3.1 2.9
Men, 16 years and over......... 49.5 48.4 49.3 53.8
16 to 19 years..................... 9.5 7.7 6.2 2.2
20 to 24 years..................... 11.6 9.8 8.5 4.8
25 to 34 years..................... 11.4 11.6 12.3 13.6
35 to 44 years..................... 8.2 9.6 10.2 15.2
45 to 54 years..................... 4.1 5.0 6.2 11.1
55 to 64 years..................... 3.5 3.4 3.8 5.2
65 years and over.................. 1.3 1.2 2.0 1.6
Women, 16 years and over....... 50.5 51.6 50.7 46.2
16 to 19 years..................... 9.8 8.2 6.2 2.2
20 to 24 years..................... 12.3 11.2 9.4 4.3
25 to 34 years..................... 12.3 12.8 12.5 11.4
35 to 44 years..................... 9.3 11.0 10.6 13.0
45 to 54 years..................... 4.3 5.8 7.4 9.9
55 to 64 years..................... 1.8 2.0 3.5 4.4
65 years and over.................. .8 .7 1.1 1.2
Race and Hispanic origin
White.............................. 79.4 80.6 81.9 85.3
Black.............................. 13.3 13.0 11.1 10.6
Hispanic origin.................... 12.2 12.8 12.4 9.4
Full- or part-time status
Full-time workers.................. 53.4 54.8 57.5 82.2
Part-time workers.................. 46.6 45.2 42.5 17.8
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of
"contingent" workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will
not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and
Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other
characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 3. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by school enrollment and educational attainment, February 1997, Percentage distribution
Contingent workers
Characteristic Noncontingent
workers
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
School enrollment
Total, 16 to 24 years
(thousands)..................... 1,029 1,143 1,690 16,299
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Enrolled........................... 61.4 57.7 63.7 40.0
Not enrolled....................... 38.6 42.3 36.3 60.0
Less than a high school diploma 8.0 9.3 8.5 10.5
High school graduates, no
college......................... 13.5 16.0 13.2 27.5
Less than a bachelor's degree.. 9.4 9.9 8.2 15.5
College graduates.............. 7.8 7.1 6.3 6.6
Educational attainment
Total, 25 to 64 years
(thousands)..................... 1,308 1,893 3,710 101,397
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than a high school diploma.... 10.0 11.0 10.4 9.6
High school graduates, no college.. 27.9 28.5 26.8 32.8
Less than a bachelor's degree...... 32.7 30.3 27.0 28.0
College graduates.................. 29.4 30.1 35.9 29.5
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of
"contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table
4. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by occupation and industry, February 1997
(Percent distribution)
Contingent workers
Characteristic Noncontingent
workers
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
Occupation
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 2,385 3,096 5,574 121,168
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Executive, administrative, and
managerial...................... 5.2 5.6 7.3 14.6
Professional specialty............. 16.2 15.1 21.2 15.3
Technicians and related support.... 3.2 3.6 3.5 3.3
Sales occupations.................. 7.0 7.5 5.8 12.1
Adminstrative support, including
clerical........................ 23.0 20.6 19.7 14.3
Services........................... 15.9 17.3 15.2 13.2
Precision production, craft, and
repair.......................... 10.6 10.4 10.2 10.9
Operators, fabricators, and
laborers........................ 16.3 17.0 14.1 14.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing..... 2.5 2.9 3.1 2.3
Industry
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 2,385 3,096 5,574 121,168
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Agriculture........................ 1.9 2.4 2.8 2.3
Mining............................. .3 .3 .4 .5
Construction....................... 12.3 12.0 10.1 6.0
Manufacturing...................... 7.4 7.2 8.0 16.8
Transportation and public utilities 2.5 3.5 4.1 7.1
Wholesale trade.................... 1.7 2.1 1.8 4.0
Retail trade....................... 13.1 11.6 9.5 16.7
Finance, insurance, and real estate 3.6 3.5 3.1 6.6
Services........................... 54.2 55.1 55.9 35.6
Public administration.............. 2.8 2.2 4.2 4.4
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of
"contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table
5. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected
characteristics, February 1997 (In thousands) Workers with alternative arrangements
Total Workers with
Characteristic employed Temporary Workers traditional
Independent On-call help agency provided by arrangements
contractors workers workers contract
firms
Age and sex
Total, 16 years and over.. 126,742 8,456 1,996 1,300 809 114,199
16 to 19 years................ 6,031 66 193 79 16 5,678
20 to 24 years................ 11,958 206 237 214 66 11,229
25 to 34 years................ 31,647 1,549 448 394 277 28,984
35 to 44 years................ 35,282 2,631 508 279 252 31,627
45 to 54 years................ 26,146 2,237 288 211 115 23,297
55 to 64 years................ 12,032 1,173 193 87 62 10,516
65 years and over............. 3,646 595 129 37 22 2,868
Men, 16 years and over.... 67,931 5,633 979 581 565 60,180
16 to 19 years................ 3,068 25 106 37 9 2,890
20 to 24 years................ 6,269 128 128 125 62 5,819
25 to 34 years................ 17,185 960 236 197 194 15,602
35 to 44 years................ 18,965 1,754 241 90 178 16,709
45 to 54 years................ 13,775 1,495 138 81 74 11,991
55 to 64 years................ 6,558 838 77 29 41 5,571
65 years and over............. 2,111 432 52 23 7 1,597
Women, 16 years and over.. 58,811 2,824 1,017 719 244 54,019
16 to 19 years................ 2,963 41 86 42 6 2,788
20 to 24 years................ 5,689 78 109 90 4 5,409
25 to 34 years................ 14,462 589 212 197 83 13,382
35 to 44 years................ 16,317 877 267 189 74 14,918
45 to 54 years................ 12,371 742 150 130 41 11,306
55 to 64 years................ 5,474 335 116 58 21 4,945
65 years and over............. 1,535 163 78 14 15 1,271
Race and Hispanic origin
White......................... 107,899 7,667 1,783 976 660 96,834
Black......................... 13,465 448 156 277 104 12,480
Hispanic origin............... 12,026 614 265 160 51 10,928
Full- or part-time status
Full-time workers............. 102,813 6,221 947 1,044 670 93,955
Part-time workers............. 23,929 2,235 1,049 256 139 20,244
NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not add to totals because the total employed includes day laborers, an alternative arrangement, not shown separately, and a small number of workers were both "on call" and "provided by contract firms." Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Workers with alternative arrangements
Workers with
Characteristic traditional
Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements
contractors workers agency workers provided by
contract firms
Age and sex
Total, 16 years and over....... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
16 to 19 years..................... .8 9.6 6.1 1.9 5.0
20 to 24 years..................... 2.4 11.9 16.5 8.1 9.8
25 to 34 years..................... 18.3 22.5 30.3 34.2 25.4
35 to 44 years..................... 31.1 25.4 21.5 31.1 27.7
45 to 54 years..................... 26.5 14.4 16.2 14.2 20.4
55 to 64 years..................... 13.9 9.7 6.7 7.7 9.2
65 years and over.................. 7.0 6.5 2.8 2.8 2.5
Men, 16 years and over......... 66.6 49.0 44.7 69.8 52.7
16 to 19 years..................... .3 5.3 2.9 1.1 2.5
20 to 24 years..................... 1.5 6.4 9.6 7.7 5.1
25 to 34 years..................... 11.4 11.8 15.1 24.0 13.7
35 to 44 years..................... 20.7 12.1 6.9 21.9 14.6
45 to 54 years..................... 17.7 6.9 6.2 9.1 10.5
55 to 64 years..................... 9.9 3.9 2.2 5.1 4.9
65 years and over.................. 5.1 2.6 1.7 .9 1.4
Women, 16 years and over....... 33.4 51.0 55.3 30.2 47.3
16 to 19 years..................... .5 4.3 3.2 .8 2.4
20 to 24 years..................... .9 5.4 6.9 .4 4.7
25 to 34 years..................... 7.0 10.6 15.1 10.3 11.7
35 to 44 years..................... 10.4 13.4 14.6 9.2 13.1
45 to 54 years..................... 8.8 7.5 10.0 5.1 9.9
55 to 64 years..................... 4.0 5.8 4.4 2.6 4.3
65 years and over.................. 1.9 3.9 1.1 1.9 1.1
Race and Hispanic origin
White.............................. 90.7 89.3 75.1 81.5 84.8
Black.............................. 5.3 7.8 21.3 12.9 10.9
Hispanic origin.................... 7.3 13.3 12.3 6.3 9.6
Full- or part-time status
Full-time workers.................. 73.6 47.4 80.3 82.8 82.3
Part-time workers.................. 26.4 52.6 19.7 17.2 17.7
NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the
"alternative arrangements" categories. Detail for the above race and
Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races"
group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population
groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Workers with alternative arrangements
Workers with
Characteristic traditional
Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements
contractors workers agency workers provided by
contract firms
School enrollment
Total, 16 to 24 years
(thousands)..................... 272 429 294 81 16,907
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Enrolled........................... 30.7 50.4 16.1 26.0 42.8
Not enrolled....................... 69.3 49.6 83.9 74.0 57.2
Less than a high school diploma 9.5 15.8 14.7 9.6 10.1
High school graduates, no
college......................... 27.7 21.5 31.6 29.3 26.1
Less than a bachelor's degree.. 24.1 7.8 28.7 27.1 14.5
College graduates.............. 7.9 4.4 8.8 8.0 6.5
Educational attainment
Total, 25 to 64 years
(thousands)..................... 7,590 1,437 970 705 94,424
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Less than a high school diploma.... 8.7 13.4 11.2 7.2 9.7
High school graduates, no college.. 30.3 28.7 30.7 36.8 32.8
Less than a bachelor's degree...... 26.8 32.0 36.3 23.4 28.0
College graduates.................. 34.1 25.9 21.8 32.7 29.5
NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the
"alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not sum to totals due to
rounding. Table
8. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by occupation and
industry, February 1997 (Percent distribution)
Workers with alternative arrangements
Workers with
Characteristic traditional
Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements
contractors workers agency workers provided by
contract firms
Occupation
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 8,456 1,996 1,300 809 114,199
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Executive, administrative, and
managerial...................... 20.7 2.7 6.9 8.1 14.1
Professional specialty............. 17.9 21.2 6.6 19.8 15.3
Technicians and related support.... .8 4.1 5.8 7.2 3.4
Sales occupations.................. 17.9 6.7 1.7 2.8 11.7
Adminstrative support, including
clerical........................ 3.9 8.6 34.1 5.2 15.3
Services........................... 9.1 20.4 9.0 27.7 13.5
Precision production, craft, and
repair.......................... 17.9 14.7 5.2 19.8 10.3
Operators, fabricators, and
laborers........................ 6.8 18.8 29.1 9.2 14.3
Farming, forestry, and fishing..... 5.1 2.8 1.6 .2 2.2
Industry
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 8,456 1,996 1,300 809 114,199
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
Agriculture........................ 5.7 3.4 - .2 2.1
Mining............................. .2 .4 .6 2.1 .5
Construction....................... 20.7 14.4 2.2 4.6 4.9
Manufacturing...................... 4.7 5.3 27.7 19.0 17.5
Transportation and public utilities 5.1 8.6 5.3 12.9 7.1
Wholesale trade.................... 3.5 1.7 3.8 1.5 4.0
Retail trade....................... 10.1 12.5 3.4 6.3 17.2
Finance, insurance, and real estate 8.4 1.5 7.4 7.5 6.4
Services........................... 41.4 47.5 36.6 26.5 35.5
Public administration.............. .2 4.0 (1) 13.1 4.8
Not reported or ascertained........ - .6 12.9 6.3 -
1 Less than 0.05 percent.
Percent with health insurance Percent eligible for
coverage employer-provided pension
plan(2)
Characteristic Total employed
Included in
Total Provided by Total employer-prov-
employer(1) ided pension
plan
Contingent workers:
Estimate 1....................... 2,385 60.5 10.9 14.2 5.7
Estimate 2....................... 3,096 59.2 9.4 12.9 5.5
Estimate 3....................... 5,574 66.1 20.7 23.3 14.8
Noncontingent workers.............. 121,168 82.2 53.9 49.2 44.2
With alternative arrangements:
Independent contractors.......... 8,456 72.7 (3) 3.6 2.3
On call workers.................. 1,996 67.3 19.6 27.0 19.2
Temporary help agency workers.... 1,300 46.4 7.0 10.4 3.7
Workers provided by contract
firms........................... 809 81.7 50.2 47.6 35.7
With traditional arrangements...... 114,199 82.8 57.5 52.2 46.9
1 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) and independent
contractors. Table
10. Employed contingent workers by their preference for contingent or noncontingent work
arrangements, February 1997 (Percent distribution)
Contingent workers
Preference
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 2,385 3,096 5,574
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0
Prefer noncontingent employment.... 60.2 56.7 55.5
Prefer contingent employment....... 34.1 35.8 36.2
It depends......................... 4.9 5.2 5.8
Not available...................... .9 2.3 2.5
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of
"contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table
11. Employed workers with alternative work arrangements by their preference for a
traditional work arrangement, February 1997 (Percent distribution)
Preference Independent contractors On-call workers Temporary help agency
workers
Total, 16 years and over
(thousands)..................... 8,456 1,996 1,300
Percent........................ 100.0 100.0 100.0
Prefer traditional arrangement..... 9.3 50.0 59.2
Prefer indirect or alternative
arrangement..................... 83.6 40.0 33.5
It depends......................... 4.6 6.4 4.8
Not available...................... 2.5 3.5 2.5
NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
Percent distribution
Total
Arrangement (thousands) Contingent workers
Noncontingent
workers
Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3
With alternative arrangements:
Independent contractors.......... 8,456 (1) 3.5 3.5 96.5
On-call workers.................. 1,996 13.9 14.2 26.7 73.3
Temporary help agency workers.... 1,300 27.7 42.5 56.8 43.2
Workers provided by contract
firms........................... 809 5.3 12.0 16.7 83.3
With traditional arrangements...... 114,199 1.5 1.6 3.4 96.6
1 Not applicable. Excludes independent contractors and the self-employed (incorporated
and unincorporated).
Contingent workers Workers with alternative arrangements
Workers with
Characteristic Noncontinge- Independ- Temporary Workers traditional
Estimate Estimate Estimate nt workers ent On-call help provided arrangements
1 2 3 contract- workers agency by
ors workers contract
firms
Full-time workers
Total, 16 years and
over................ $356 $368 $417 $510 $523 $432 $329 $619 $510
Men.................... 406 424 486 579 592 508 385 685 578
Women.................. 298 307 354 449 400 286 305 439 450
White.................. 362 371 427 523 574 455 324 675 524
Black.................. 320 376 377 426 383 378 332 394 428
Hispanic origin........ 277 284 278 359 425 321 281 (1) 357
Part-time workers
Total, 16 years and
over................ 102 105 111 146 189 119 148 $145 144
Men.................... 102 104 111 129 227 126 121 (1) 126
Women.................. 103 105 110 153 163 115 162 $141 151
White.................. 100 102 110 145 191 120 137 141 143
Black.................. 103 108 107 150 159 (1) 181 (1) 146
Hispanic origin........ 104 104 101 142 175 $133 (1) (1) 138
1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. |
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