Full text of February 1997 : Text File, USDL 97-422
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Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information: (202) 606-6378 USDL 97-422
For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact: 606-5902 Tuesday, December 2, 1997
CONTINGENT AND ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS, FEBRUARY 1997
The 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.
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--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
|
--------------------------------------------------|
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
-----------------------------------------------------------------
- 3 -
--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 workers
Contingent 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 workers
The 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 workers
Median 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.
- 4 -
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 arrangements
The 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 contractors
Independent 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 workers
On-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 workers
Workers 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.)
- 5 -
Workers provided by contract firms
Individuals 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 arrangements
Among 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.
Technical Note
Source of data
The data presented in this release were collected through a supplement
to the February 1997 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of
about 50,000 households that provides the basic data on employment and
unemployment for the nation. This supplement obtained information from
workers on whether they held contingent jobs, that is, jobs which were
expected to last only a limited period of time. In addition, information
was collected on several alternative employment arrangements, namely
working as independent contractors and on call, as well as working through
temporary help agencies and contract firms.
All employed persons, except unpaid family workers, were included in
the supplement. For persons holding more than one job, the questions
referred to the characteristics of their main job--the job in which they
worked the most hours. A similar survey was conducted in February 1995.
Concepts and definitions
Defining and estimating the contingent workforce. Contingent workers
were defined as those who do not have an explicit or implicit contract for
long-term employment. Several pieces of information were collected in the
supplement from which the existence of a contingent employment arrangement
could be discerned. These include: whether the job was temporary or not
expected to continue, how long the worker expected to be able to hold the
job, and how long the worker had held the job. For workers who had a job
with an intermediary, namely a temporary help agency or a contract company,
information was collected about their employment at the place they were
assigned to work by the intermediary as well as their employment with the
intermediary itself.
The key factor used to determine if a worker's job fit the conceptual
definition of contingent was whether the job was temporary or not expected
to continue. The first questions of the supplement were:
1. Some people are in temporary jobs that last only for a limited time
or until the completion of a project. Is your job temporary?
2. Provided the economy does not change and your job performance is
adequate, can you continue to work for your current employer as long as you
wish?
Respondents who answered "yes" to the first question, or "no" to the
second, were then asked a series of questions to distinguish persons who
were in temporary jobs from those who, for personal reasons, were
temporarily holding jobs that offered the opportunity of ongoing
employment. For example, students holding part-time jobs in fast-food
restaurants while in school might view those jobs as temporary if they
intend to leave them at the end of the school year. The jobs themselves,
however, would be filled by other workers once the students leave.
Jobs were defined as being short term or temporary if the person was
working only until the completion of a specific project, temporarily
replacing another worker, being hired for a fixed time period, filling a
seasonal job that is available only during certain times of the year, or if
other business conditions dictated that the job was short term.
Workers also were asked how long they expected to stay in their current
job and how long they had been with their current employer. The rationale
for asking how long an individual expects to remain in his or her current
- 2 -
job was that being able to hold a job for a year or more could be taken as
evidence of at least an implicit contract for ongoing employment. In other
words, the employer's need for the worker's services is not likely to
evaporate tomorrow. By the same token, the information on how long a
worker has been with the employer shows whether a job has been ongoing.
Having remained with an employer for more than a year may be taken as
evidence that, at least in the past, there was an explicit or implicit
contract for continuing employment.
To assess the impact of altering some of the defining factors on the
estimated size of the contingent workforce, three measures of contingent
employment were developed, as follows:
Estimate 1, which is the narrowest, measures contingent workers as wage
and salary workers who indicated that they expected to work in their
current job for 1 year or less and who had worked for their current
employer for 1 year or less. Self-employed workers, both incorporated and
unincorporated, and independent contractors are excluded from the count of
contingent workers under estimate 1; the rationale was that people who work
for themselves, by definition, have ongoing employment arrangements,
although they may face financial risks. Individuals who worked for
temporary help agencies or contract companies are considered contingent
under estimate 1 only if they expect their employment arrangement with the
temporary help or contract company to last for 1 year or less and they had
worked for that company for 1 year or less.
Estimate 2 expands the measure of the contingent work force by
including the self-employed--both the incorporated and the unincorporated--
and independent contractors who expect to be, and had been, in such
employment arrangements for 1 year or less. (The questions asked of the
self-employed are different from those asked of wage and salary workers.)
In addition, temporary help and contract company workers are classified as
contingent under estimate 2 if they had worked and expected to work for the
customers to whom they were assigned for 1 year or less. For example, a
"temp" secretary who is sent to a different customer each week but has
worked for the same temporary help firm for more than 1 year and expects to
be able to continue with that firm indefinitely is contingent under
estimate 2, but not under estimate 1. In contrast, a "temp" who is
assigned to a single client for more than a year and expects to be able to
stay with that client for more than a year is not counted as contingent
under either estimate.
Estimate 3 expands the count of contingency by removing the 1-year
requirement on both expected duration of the job and current tenure for
wage and salary workers. Thus, the estimate effectively includes all the
wage and salary workers who do not expect their employment to last, except
for those who, for personal reasons, expect to leave jobs that they would
otherwise be able to keep. Thus, a worker who had held a job for 5 years
could be considered contingent if he or she now viewed the job as
temporary. These conditions on expected and current tenure are not relaxed
for the self-employed and independent contractors, because they were asked
a different set of questions from wage and salary workers.
Defining alternative employment arrangements. To provide estimates of
the number of workers in alternative employment arrangements, the February
1997 CPS supplement included questions about whether individuals were paid
by a temporary help agency or contract company, or whether they were on-
call workers or independent contractors. Definitions of each category, as
well as the main questions used to identify workers in each category,
follow.
Independent contractors are all those who were identified as
independent contractors, consultants, and free-lance workers in the
supplement, regardless of whether they were identified as wage and salary
workers or self-employed in the responses to basic CPS labor force status
questions. Workers identified as self-employed (incorporated and
unincorporated) in the basic CPS were asked, "Are you self-employed as an
independent contractor, independent consultant, free-lance worker, or
something else (such as a shop or restaurant owner)?" in order to
distinguish those who consider themselves to be independent contractors,
consultants, or free-lance workers from those who were business operators
such as shop owners or restaurateurs. Those identified as wage and salary
- 3 -
workers in the basic CPS were asked, "Last week, were you working as an
independent contractor, an independent consultant, or a free-lance worker?
That is, someone who obtains customers on their own to provide a product or
service."
About 88 percent of independent contractors were identified as self-
employed in the main questionnaire, while 12 percent were identified as
wage and salary workers. Conversely, about half of the self-employed were
identified as independent contractors.
On-call workers are persons who are called into work only when they
are needed. This category includes workers who answered affirmatively to
the question, "Some people are in a pool of workers who are ONLY called to
work as needed, although they can be scheduled to work for several days or
weeks in a row, for example, substitute teachers and construction workers
supplied by a union hiring hall. These people are sometimes referred to as
ON-CALL workers. Were you an ON-CALL worker last week?" Persons with
regularly scheduled work which might include periods of being "on call" to
perform work at unusual hours, such as medical residents, were not included
in this category.
Temporary help agency workers were all those who were paid by a
temporary help agency. To the extent that permanent staff of temporary
help agencies indicate that they are paid by their agencies, the estimate
of the number of workers whose employment was mediated by temporary help
agencies is overstated. This category includes workers who said their job
was temporary and answered affirmatively to the question, "Are you paid by
a temporary help agency?" Also included are workers who said their job was
not temporary and answered affirmatively to the question, "Even though you
told me your job is not temporary, are you paid by a temporary help
agency?"
Workers provided by contract firms are those individuals identified as
working for a contract company, and who usually work for only one customer
and usually work at the customer's worksite. The last two requirements
were imposed to focus on workers whose employment appeared to be very
closely tied to the firm for which they are performing the work, rather
than include all workers employed by firms that provide services. This
category included workers who answered affirmatively to the question, "Some
companies provide employees or their services to others under contract. A
few examples of services that can be contracted out include security,
landscaping, or computer programming. Did you work for a company that
contracts out you or your services last week?" These workers also had to
respond negatively to the question, "Are you usually assigned to more than
one customer?" In addition, these workers had to respond affirmatively to
the question, "Do you usually work at the customer's worksite?"
Additional information
Persons interested in additional information about this release or the
February supplement should contact (202) 606-6378 (email: CPSINFO@bls.gov).
Further information on the concepts used in this release can be found in
"Contingent and alternative work arrangements, defined," in the October
1996 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.
Information in this release is made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 606-7828; TDD phone:
(202) 606-5897; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577.
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.
Table 2. Percent distribution of employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected
characteristics, February 1997
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
(Percent 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.
Table 6. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected characteristics,
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
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.
Table 7. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by school enrollment and
educational attainment, 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
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.
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. For temporary help agency workers
and workers provided by contract firms, the industry classification is that of the place to which they were
assigned. Dash represents zero.
Table 9. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers and those with alternative and traditional work
arrangements by health insurance coverage and eligibility for employer-provided pension plans, February 1997
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.
2 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated); includes independent contractors who were
self-employed.
3 Not applicable.
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers
with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories.
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.
Table 12. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by contingent and noncontingent
employment, February 1997
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).
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers
with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories.
Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full- and part-time contingent and noncontingent wage and salary workers and
those with alternative and traditional work arrangements by sex, age, race, and Hispanic origin, February 1997
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.
NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers with
traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Earnings data
for contingent and noncontingent workers exclude the incorporated self-employed and independent contractors. Data for
independent contractors include the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed; these groups, however, are excluded
from the data for workers with other arrangements.