The Plight of the Alternative Worker

By Felicia Marsh, December 30, 2021

What is an alternative worker?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), laborers who have "alternative" arrangements for their primary employment, such independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, "gig" workers, and workers provided by contract firms, fall into a category the bureau calls "alternative employment arrangements".

Photo by Alex Kotliarskyi on Unsplash

I was doing some research trying to find some data on the size today's third party contract worker labor market to speak to the rapid increase in the number of workers in the US with "alternative" or non-traditional primary employment arrangements. Sadly there is very little information out there with hard data.

Light on Labor Statistics

In fact, the latest report/survey done by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS 2018) was completed in 2017 and released in 2018. And many find that the numbers reported seem to contradict what other researchers are reporting. According to an article on Brookings.edu, the "BLS focus on primary employment is obscuring a broader increase in nonstandard employment" (Shambaugh 2018).

A report from the International Labour Office in 2018, estimates that of more than 43 million workers employed through private employment agencies and staffing companies worldwide in 2015, the largest numbers were found in the United States at approximately 15.6 million (ILO 2018). These numbers are admittedly deficient since they are confined to agency workers employed by members of The International Confederation of Private Employment Services.

Where is the Labor Coming From

Another set of data points lacking in any of the statistics is the origin of the labor provided through these agencies, thus making it difficult to tell who is actually doing the work and from where. 

The Trouble With the Lack of Numbers

This inability or unwillingness to clearly define and collect data about the nonstandard labor force is troublesome for many reasons. 

Many laborers believe that these numbers are purposely being blurred to the benefit of the employment agencies and of the businesses that prefer to employ a cheaper labor force overseas or to purposely give the perception of fewer full time employees in order to provide investors with favorable balance sheets.

Photo by mostafa meraji on Unsplash

Considering the relative lack of accountability and transparency in the recruiter process, the lack of protections for "gig" workers, many of whom use short contract work as their primary employment, and the general "disposable" attitude towards contract workers by businesses, lack of representation in the reported labor statistics leaves an ever increasing portion of the labor market vulnerable to all manner of unfair and unethical behavior.

References:

International Labour Office (ILO), October 2018. Multi-party work relationships; concepts, definitions and statistics, 20th International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS), Geneva

Shambaugh, Jay; Nunn,Ryan; and Bauer, Lauren; June 7, 2018. Independent Workers and The Modern Labor Market, The Brookings Institution

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), June 7, 2018. Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements News Release (USDL-18-0942)