ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on contingent work. It argues that nearly all Americans' work is contingent, and that what people call "contingent" work has become the norm in American workplaces. In fact, they have concluded that there was a decrease in contingent work in the US between 1995 and 2005, and they even argued at the time that there was "little support for critics' concern of the creation of a disposable workforce". Many economists and sociologists limit the definition of contingent workers to temporary employees, hired through employment agencies, "direct hire" temporary employees, and contract employees. To the extent that employers are wrongly identifying employees as independent contractors, these employees will often not be counted as contingent employees, even though many of them have a more precarious relationship to the employer than do those who are classified by the employer as employees. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimated in 2005 that 4.1" of employees had contingent arrangements.
