The trend seem to be gaining traction, if this article from MSNBC.com is to be believed, "Need a job? Contract work could be new normal."

By Eve Tahmincioglu
msnbc.com contributor
May 6, 2010

Stephen Luebkert was laid off in March 2009 from a Boston-based semiconductor company. He lived for four months on his severance while he looked for another full-time job and eventually ended up working again for the same firm.

The difference is that now he is a contract employee. He no longer gets any of the perks of being a permanent worker, including paid vacations or sick days, health insurance or tuition assistance. And he estimates that he makes about 20 percent less — for the same job he was doing before.

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Temp work is no longer seen as work done only by misfits who either can't get a job or refuse to conform to the "normal" workplace. In this economy, you have to find work any way you can. If that means a few hours a week here and there, doing whatever is needed, then you do it. Anything to bring in a paycheck.

It used to be that when temporary hiring picked up, then hiring for "real" jobs soon followed. But, as our friends at MSNBC note, that's not the case anymore.

Read it all: Temp hiring no longer seen as sign of recovery

University of California, Davis Sociology Professor: Temp jobs here to stay

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‘Official’ job numbers don’t tell the whole story

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The article is slanted toward college students (as this is a college town). It only mentions one non-student, giving the impression that mostly students are affected. Memo to the article's writer, Brittany Anas: A lot of older workers in Boulder County are experiencing "giganomics" as well.

Career counselors see 'giganomics' as new job trend

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While I agree in principle, I'm willing to bet these economists have never had to choose between keeping people employed or keeping their business in business. Sure, in the big scheme of the universe, keeping people employed greases the wheels of the economy. And it is easier to cut employees than many other things a business could do. But, when your back is against a wall, sometimes you've got no choice but to do layoffs.

Maybe instead of pontificating, these economists could do something useful and work to change a financial system that rewards companies for layoffs with higher stock prices?

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1. Madison, WI
2. Washington, D.C.
3. Boston, MA
4. Richmond, VA
5. Milwaukee, WI
6. Pittsburgh, PA
7. Baltimore, MD
8. Seattle, WA
9. Houston, TX
10. Dallas, TX

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So it seems that workers with more experience have an advantage these days. So much for our youth-oriented culture...

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The economy lost 524,000 jobs in December, raising the unemployment rate to 7.2 percent. More than 10 million Americans are now unemployed. Many more millions of Americans worry about their own job security. These anxieties are transforming the workplace. Employees may be working harder, experts say, but they may also be less productive. What is the toll on individual workers and on the economy as a whole? Our Room for Debate panelists try to answer the question. We hope readers will share their own stories and observations.

Mitchell Lee Marks, business professor
Ed Park, novelist
Tom Geoghegan, labor lawyer
Jean Twenge, psychology professor
Myra S. White, psychologist
Rebecca Johnson, human resources consultant

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