December 22, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Over half of contingent workers would prefer permanent jobs

In February of this year, 53 percent of workers holding contingent jobs would have preferred to have permanent jobs.

[Chart data—TXT]

However, a significant minority of contingent workers did prefer temporary work. Thirty-nine percent preferred to have a contingent arrangement, up slightly from 36 percent in the previous survey of contingent workers in February 1997.

Contingent workers are defined as those who do not have an explicit or implicit contract for long-term employment. The key factor used to determine if a worker’s job is contingent is whether the job is temporary or not expected to continue. Persons who do not expect to continue in their jobs for personal reasons such as retirement or returning to school are not considered contingent workers (provided that they would otherwise have the option of continuing in the job).

These data are a product of a biennial supplement to the February 1999 Current Population Survey. Find out more in Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, February 1999, news release USDL 99-362.