Flexible labor: restructuring the American work force (ABSTRACT), Monthly Labor Review Online, Aug. 1997

Flexible labor: restructuring the American work force

Angela Clinton
Economist, Division of Monthly Industry Employment Statistics, Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Trends in employment, occupations, output, and input provide evidence that firms have increased their purchases of services relative to directly hiring labor. Such purchases include outsourcing or contracting out of various functions, utilizing temporary workers, or leasing an entire work force to meet all labor needs. This article focuses on business services and engineering and management services--two industry groups that provide flexible labor services and have been adding employees more rapidly than have the overall U.S. nonfarm economy.

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