Even though Japan and Switzerland are characterised by comparatively low youth unemployment rates, non-standard forms of employment are on the rise, posing a risk to the stable integration of young labour market entrants. Drawing on the French approach of societal analysis, this paper investigates how country-specific school-to-work transition…

We examine the prevalence of nonstandard employment in the nonmetropolitan United States using the Current Population Survey Supplement on Contingent Work (1999 and 2001). We find that nonstandard work is more prevalent in nonmetropolitan than in central city or suburban areas. Logistic regression models controlling for sociodemographic and work…

Both the proportion and characteristics of workers in four alternative employment arrangements in February 1997 were little different from two years earlier. The groups--temporary-help-agency workers, contract company workers, workers who are on call, and independent contractors--continue to be highly diverse. (Author/JOW)

A comparison of the incidence of atypical employment in 11 European countries shows that high rates of part-time employment mitigate unemployment, but high proportions of temporary employment seem to coincide with high unemployment. (JOW)

Although conventional wisdom indicates that temporary workers are becoming the norm and full-time workers are becoming an anachronism, statistics do not bear this position out. The truth includes the following facts: (1) companies are using more temporary workers, but these new employment arrangements provide new entry points into the labor market…

Although the incidence of contingent work--jobs that are structured to be short term or temporary--declined between 1995 and 1997, it continues to be more common among women, youth, students, part-time workers, and in the construction and services industries. Contingent workers are also found in both high- and low-skilled occupations. (Author/JOW)

Contingent workers are those employed in jobs that do not fit the traditional description of a full-time, permanent job with benefits. Contingent work takes the form of part-time, temporary, and contract employment. The number of contingent workers in 1988 has been estimated at between 29.9 and 36.6 million, representing 25-30 percent of the…

A 1995 study of recent developments in temporary work in Britain was based on survey data from 979 workplaces and interviews with 23 employers and employment agencies. Data were collected through a postal questionnaire survey and face-to-face interviews. Findings indicated that temporary working was widespread with over half the respondents…

As the number of women workers has increased, the conditions of employment have changed. Contingent employment such as part time and temporary work allows women to accommodate their lifestyle needs and enables employers to compete in the world economy. Lack of benefits and lack of advancement opportunities are pitfalls of such arrangements. (VM)

Part-time work is a significant aspect of the U.S. labor market, and the number of part-time jobs has increased from 6 million in 1955 to 19 million in 1987. Part-time work is done by a very diverse range of workers, particularly teenagers, older workers, and women with children. Consequently, it is probably not useful to think about the part-time…

With the many layoffs and downsizing of companies during the 1990s, many displaced workers have turned to temporary employment to earn a living while looking for permanent employment. Others have adopted "temping" as a more long-term work style. Although it may not be possible to predict whether an individual will find satisfaction or…

With more mothers in the work force and greater stresses created by competing demands of work and home, nonstandard work arrangements (NSWAs), which include temporary help agency work, on-call work, day labor, contract work, independent contracting, self-employment, and part-time work, have been suggested as a remedy for this conflict. For the…

Nonstandard work arrangements (independent contracting, working for a temporary help agency, contract or on-call work, day labor, self-employment, and regular part-time employment) are growing more common in the United States. In 1995, more than 29 percent of all jobs were in nonstandard work arrangements. A study of these jobs and the…

In an effort to pare labor and benefits costs, many businesses and government employers have significantly reduced the size of their permanent, full-time work forces in favor of a part-time work force and various types of contingent workers: independent contractors, temporary workers, on-call workers and day laborers, and leased workers.…

This report summarizes the presentations and discussions at a conference on contingent labor sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor. The first two sections are introductory: (1) "Introduction to the Role of Contingent Labor" (Kathleen Christensen, Mary Murphree); and (2) "Between Now and the Year 2000: A Glimpse of the Workplace" (Jill Houghton…