Flexible Staffing Arrangements
A Report on Temporary Help, On-Call, Direct-Hire Temporary, Leased, Contract Company, and Independent Contractor Employment in the United States
Susan N. Houseman
August 1999
Table 2 provides data on the characteristics of workers in flexible staffing positions. As is evident from these figures, the distribution of worker characteristics varies considerably across arrangements. Agency temporaries, on-call workers, and direct hire temporaries are disproportionately female and young. A disproportionate number of agency temporaries are black or Hispanic while a large percentage of on-call workers are high-school drop-outs. In contrast, independent contractors and contract company workers are disproportionately male, older, more educated, and, in the case of independent contractors, white.
Table 2. Characteristics of Workers by Working Arrangement (in percent) [Text Version]
| Agency Temporaries |
On-call or Day Laborers |
Independent Contractors |
Contract Company Workers |
Other Direct-Hire Temporaries |
Other Self Employed |
Regular Employees |
|
| Gender |
|||||||
| Male |
44.7 |
49.6 |
66.6 |
70.0 |
48.1 |
61.6 |
52.3 |
| Female |
55.3 |
50.4 |
33.4 |
30.1 |
51.9 |
38.4 |
47.7 |
| Age |
|||||||
| 16-19 |
6.1 |
9.5 |
0.8 |
2.0 |
16.0 |
0.5 |
4.9 |
| 20-24 |
16.5 |
12.0 |
2.4 |
8.6 |
20.6 |
2.4 |
10.0 |
| 25-34 |
30.3 |
22.6 |
18.3 |
34.7 |
23.5 |
15.7 |
26.1 |
| 34-44 |
21.5 |
25.5 |
31.1 |
30.1 |
17.7 |
28.2 |
28.0 |
| 45-54 |
16.2 |
14.3 |
26.5 |
14.6 |
12.4 |
26.1 |
20.3 |
| 55-64 |
6.7 |
9.7 |
13.9 |
7.8 |
6.7 |
17.2 |
8.8 |
| 65+ |
2.8 |
6.4 |
7.0 |
2.2 |
3.2 |
9.9 |
2.0 |
| Race/Ethnicity |
|||||||
| White |
63.3 |
75.9 |
83.5 |
74.1 |
70.3 |
88.4 |
75.1 |
| Black |
20.8 |
7.5 |
5.3 |
13.7 |
9.6 |
3.2 |
11.1 |
| Hispanic |
12.3 |
13.6 |
7.3 |
6.7 |
11.4 |
4.2 |
9.9 |
| Other |
3.6 |
3.1 |
4.0 |
5.5 |
8.6 |
4.2 |
3.9 |
| Education |
|||||||
| High School |
13.3 |
20.2 |
9.4 |
8.8 |
15.8 |
10.2 |
12.5 |
| High School |
31.7 |
27.4 |
29.8 |
36.7 |
20.6 |
30.7 |
32.9 |
| Some College |
36.5 |
30.3 |
26.7 |
24.4 |
32.3 |
24.9 |
28.9 |
| College+ |
18.5 |
22.0 |
34.1 |
30.1 |
31.3 |
34.2 |
25.6 |
Source: Author’s tabulations from February 1997 CPS Supplement on Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements.
Workers in most flexible staffing arrangements were asked about their satisfaction with the type of arrangement. Figure 2 plots the percentage of workers indicating that they preferred a different arrangement, by staffing arrangement. Agency temporaries and direct-hire temporaries were asked if they would prefer a job that is permanent or that would last for more than a year. On-call and day laborers were asked if they preferred a job with regularly scheduled hours. Independent contractors were asked if they would prefer to work for someone else. Contract company workers were not specifically asked if they preferred a different arrangement, but they were asked if they had searched for a job as something other than a contract worker and the percentage responding affirmatively to this question is reported in Figure 2. However, the percentage of contract company workers actively looking for another type job likely understates the percentage that would prefer a job as something other than a contract company worker.10 Seventy percent of agency temporaries and over half of on-call workers and direct-hire temporaries indicated that they were dissatisfied with their work arrangement. In contrast, only 10 percent of independent contractors indicated that they were dissatisfied with their arrangement. Table 3 shows the occupational and industrial distribution of employment by work arrangement. Several interesting patterns emerge from these data. While it is not surprising that a disproportionate work as operators and in the manufacturing sector. Figure 2 - Percent Preferring a Regular Work Arrangement [Text Version]
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Table 3. Occupation and Industry Distribution of Employment by Work Arrangement (in percent) [Text Version]
| Agency Temporaries |
On-call or Day Laborers |
Independent Contractors |
Contract Company Workers |
Other Direct Hire Temporaries |
Other Self- Employed |
Regular Employees |
|
| Occupation |
|||||||
| Executive, Adm. |
6.9 |
2.7 |
20.7 |
8.6 |
7.6 |
24.1 |
13.7 |
| Professional |
6.6 |
20.9 |
17.9 |
20.3 |
26.5 |
13.0 |
15.1 |
| Technical |
5.8 |
4.0 |
0.8 |
6.8 |
3.2 |
0.7 |
3.6 |
| Sales |
1.7 |
6.6 |
17.9 |
3.0 |
5.3 |
20.7 |
11.3 |
| Administrative Support |
34.1 |
8.6 |
3.9 |
5.5 |
20.2 |
5.4 |
15.8 |
| Services |
9.0 |
20.2 |
9.1 |
28.4 |
15.2 |
10.0 |
13.6 |
| Precision Production |
5.2 |
15.0 |
17.9 |
19.7 |
8.6 |
7.5 |
10.5 |
| Operators |
17.1 |
2.2 |
1.6 |
1.8 |
4.0 |
1.7 |
7.0 |
| Transportation Occupations |
3.5 |
8.5 |
4.4 |
2.5 |
1.6 |
1.6 |
4.3 |
| Laborers |
8.6 |
8.6 |
0.8 |
3.3 |
4.8 |
0.6 |
3.8 |
| Farming & Forestry |
1.6 |
2.8 |
5.1 |
0.2 |
2.9 |
14.7 |
1.4 |
| Industry |
|||||||
| Agriculture |
0.0 |
3.3 |
5.7 |
0.0 |
2.3 |
15.3 |
1.3 |
| Mining & Construction |
4.0 |
16.3 |
20.9 |
6.0 |
9.1 |
5.8 |
5.3 |
| Manufacturing |
33.8 |
5.3 |
4.8 |
19.3 |
7.2 |
6.3 |
18.6 |
| Transportation, Communication, Utilities |
7.3 |
8.1 |
5.1 |
14.0 |
3.5 |
3.7 |
7.4 |
| Trade |
21.7 |
14.1 |
13.6 |
12.7 |
11.5 |
26.2 |
21.1 |
| Finance Insurance & Real Estate |
7.8 |
1.6 |
8.4 |
7.6 |
2.6 |
5.4 |
6.6 |
| Services |
25.5 |
47.5 |
41.1 |
24.6 |
57.5 |
37.1 |
34.6 |
| Public Administration |
0.0 |
3.8 |
0.2 |
13.8 |
6.2 |
0.0 |
5.1 |
Source: Author’s tabulations from February 1997 CPS Supplement on Contingent and Alternative Work Arrangements.
Table 4. Government and Private Sector Employment by Work Arrangement (in percent) [Text Version]
| Government |
Private |
|||||
| Total |
Federal |
State |
Local |
Profit |
Non-profit |
|
| Agency temporaries |
3.5 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
94.0 |
2.6 |
| On-call or Day laborers |
23.2 |
1.7 |
3.5 |
18.0 |
72.8 |
4.1 |
| Contract company workers |
21.8 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
73.2 |
5.1 |
| Other direct-hire temporaries |
31.9 |
5.0 |
15.9 |
10.9 |
56.6 |
11.6 |
| Regular employees |
16.2 |
3.0 |
4.3 |
9.0 |
78.1 |
5.7 |
Source: Author’s tabulations from the February 1997 CPS.
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