Hiring of temporary workers in the United States during 2010 has been significant, the New York Times reports. Last month, 80% of the 50,000 newly created private-sector jobs went to temporary workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. This year, 26% of new private sector jobs were temporary positions. By contrast, in the comparable period after the recession of the early 1990s, only 11% of the added private-sector jobs were temporary.

Although the slow economy is primarily responsible for the uptick in temporary worker employment, businesses offer additional justifications:

• Project Management: Many business projects are short- to medium-term and can be completed by temporary workers overseen by a full-time supervisor.
• Flexibility: Hiring and terminating temporary workers is less legally burdensome.
• Benefits: Health and retirement benefits are costly, but not required for temporary workers.

Although a surplus worker pool currently exists, when the economy picks up, many believe the environment will change, requiring businesses to make permanent offers, including benefits, to secure talent. This would be welcome news to some: a recent survey found that 68% of temporary workers are seeking permanent positions.

Photo credit: oonal