Employment opportunities appear to be booming in one lone area of an otherwise weak US job market, in temp work – also referred to as temporary or contract work.
According to a report in the Huffington Post , the number of employment opportunities in the area of temp work has jumped more than 50 percent since the recession ended. No other sector of hiring has come close to rivaling it in the last few years.
Although hiring in the area of temp work has exploded – as businesses have increasingly gone this route to fill the necessary labor gaps within their ranks – these particular employment opportunities can be seen as a sign that companies are still tentative about hiring people for the long haul, given the lingering uncertainty surrounding the economy.
It has also been suggested the rise in temporary employment many be due to the looming health care law , which the Obama administration recently announced would be delayed.
Still, some employers have sought to sidestep the required health care provision altogether whether it is imposed this year or next, reports USA Today .
This sector of growth equates to millions of people having tenuous ties with the companies they work for, some laboring for just enough hours to not qualify for benefits like retirement and insurance.
Temporary workers often receive less pay than their full time counterparts, thus explaining why pay has barely outpaced inflation in the last four years. Little job security is establish as short term laborers know they can be replaced by someone else willing to accept the terms of the position .
Working under contract does not guarantee a job to go to the next day either – which can make budgeting for long term financial goals very difficult; making these employment opportunities less than ideal for people who have mortgages and car payments to make.
And while some companies do hire on permanent workers from their temp pools, the positions available to fill are limited.
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