Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 01-153 http://www.bls.gov/cpshome.htm For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, May 24, 2001 CONTINGENT AND ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT ARRANGEMENTS, FEBRUARY 2001 From February 1999 to February 2001, the proportion of U.S. workers holding contingent jobs edged down, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Contingent workers are persons who do not expect their jobs to last or who report that their jobs are temporary. Using three alternative measures, contingent workers accounted for 1.7 percent to 4.0 percent of total employment in February 2001, compared with 1.9 percent to 4.3 percent in February 1999. (See table A.) The broadest measure of contingency is well below that recorded in February 1995 (4.9 percent), when the survey was first conducted. The drop in the contingency rate over the period coincided with declining unemployment and increasing employment. The analysis in this release focuses on the broadest measure of contingency, which includes 5.4 million workers who do not expect their current job to last. In addition to contingent workers, the February 2001 survey also identified persons in alternative work arrangements. The survey found 8.6 million independent contractors (6.4 percent of total employment), 2.1 million on-call workers (1.6 percent of total employment), 1.2 million temporary help agency workers (0.9 percent of the employed), and 633,000 contract company workers (0.5 percent of total employment). The proportions of workers employed in all four alternative arrangements were about unchanged since February 1999. With the exception of independent contractors, for whom there was a slight decline, these rates were little changed from those of the first survey in February 1995. A worker may be in both a contingent and an alternative work arrangement, but is not automatically so, because contingent work is defined separately from the four alternative work arrangements. In February 2001, the proportion of workers in alternative work arrangements who also were classified as contingent under the broadest estimate ranged from 4 percent of independent contractors to 55 percent of temporary help agency workers. Data on contingent and alternative employment arrangements have been collected in biennial supplements to the Current Population Survey (CPS) since February 1995. The CPS is a monthly survey of 50,000 households that is the primary source of information on the nation's labor force. A description of the concepts and definitions in the supplement is shown in the Technical Note that follows the analysis. Highlights from the February 2001 survey are: - 2 - Table A. Contingent workers and workers in alternative arrangements as a percent of total employment, February 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------- | Percent of Definition and alternative estimates | total of contingent workers | employed ------------------------------------------------------------------- Contingent workers are those who do not have an implicit or explicit contract for ongoing employ- ment. Persons who do not expect to continue in their jobs for personal reasons, such as retirement or returning to school, are not considered contin- gent workers, provided that they would have the option of continuing in the job were it not for these personal reasons. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Estimate 1 | | Wage and salary workers who expect their jobs will | last for an additional year or less and who had | worked at their jobs for 1 year or less. Self- | employed workers and independent contractors are | excluded from the estimate. For temporary help | and contract workers, contingency is based on the | expected duration and tenure of their employment | with the temporary help or contract firm, not with | the specific client to whom they were assigned. | 1.7 | Estimate 2 | | Workers, including the self-employed and indepen- | dent contractors, who expect their employment to | last for an additional year or less and who had | worked at their jobs (or been self-employed) for 1 | year or less. For temporary help and contract | workers, contingency is determined on the basis of | the expected duration and tenure with the client | to whom they are assigned, instead of their tenure | with the temporary help or contract firm. | 2.2 | Estimate 3 | | Workers who do not expect their jobs to last. Wage | and salary workers are included even if they | already had held the job for more than 1 year and | expect to hold the job for at least an additional | year. The self-employed and independent | contractors are included if they expect their | employment to last for an additional year or less | and they had been self-employed or independent | contractors for 1 year or less. | 4.0 ---------------------------------------------------| Type of alternative arrangement | ---------------------------------------------------| | Independent contractors | Workers who were identified as independent | contractors, independent consultants, or free- | lance workers, whether they were self-employed or | wage and salary workers. | 6.4 | On-call workers | Workers who are called to work only as needed, | although they can be scheduled to work for several | days or weeks in a row. | 1.6 | | Workers who were paid by a temporary help agency, | whether or not their job was temporary. | .9 | Workers provided by contract firms | Workers who are employed by a company that | provides them or their services to others under | contract and who are usually assigned to only one | customer and usually work at the customer’s | worksite. | .5 ------------------------------------------------------------------- - 3 - --There were 5.4 million contingent workers under the broadest measure of contingency (estimate 3), comprising 4 percent of total employment. --Contingent workers were more than twice as likely as noncontingent workers to be under age 25. They were slightly more likely to be black or Hispanic than noncontingent workers. --Contingent workers age 25 to 64 were more likely than noncontingent workers to be high school dropouts and less likely to have graduated from college. --Over half (52 percent) of contingent workers would have preferred a permanent job. --The characteristics of workers in alternative employment arrangements differed widely among the four alternative arrangements and from workers in traditional arrangements. For example, compared with workers in traditional arrangements, independent contractors were more likely to be white, male, and age 35 and older, while temporary help agency workers were more likely to be black or Hispanic, female, and between the ages of 20 and 34. --While 83 percent of independent contractors preferred their arrangement, 49 percent of on-call workers and 45 percent of temporary help agency workers would have preferred to be in a traditional work arrangement. Demographic characteristics of contingent workers In February 2001, 5.4 million workers were classified as contingent under the broadest estimate. The characteristics of contingent workers were little changed from prior surveys. About 31 percent of contingent workers were 16 to 24 years old, compared with 14 percent of noncontingent workers. (See tables 1 and 2.) Of those 16- to 24-year-old contingent workers, 60 percent were enrolled in school in February 2001, compared with 41 percent of noncontingent workers of that age. The predominance of students in contingent work may explain why 42 percent of contingent workers have part-time schedules, compared with 17 percent of noncontingent workers. Compared with noncontingent workers, contingent workers age 25 to 64 were more likely to have dropped out of high school and about as likely to have graduated from high school without going on to college. (See table 3.) Contingent workers were somewhat more likely than noncontingent workers to be women (50 percent compared with 47 percent). Contingent workers were slightly more likely than noncontingent workers to be black (13 percent compared with 11 percent) or Hispanic (17 percent compared with 11 percent). (See table 2.) Occupation and industry of contingent workers As in prior surveys, contingent workers were spread across the different occupational groups. They were, however, more likely than noncontingent workers to be in professional specialty, administrative support, services, precision production, and farming occupations. Over half of contingent workers were employed in the services industry (55 percent)--a far greater proportion than noncontingent workers. They also were more likely than noncontingent workers to be found in the agriculture and construction industries. (See table 4.) - 4 - Job preferences of contingent workers Over half (52 percent) of contingent workers would have preferred a permanent job in February 2001, while 40 percent said they preferred their contingent employment arrangement. The percent of contingent workers who preferred their employment arrangement was about the same as in February 1999 (39 percent), but was up substantially from February 1995 (31 percent). (See table 10.) Compensation of contingent workers In February 2001, the median usual weekly earnings for contingent workers who were full-time employees was $432. (See table 13.) Due to the way in which the survey was conducted in February 2001, information on the earnings of noncontingent workers is not available. (See the box note at the end of the text for a further explanation.) As in prior surveys, contingent workers were much less likely than noncontingent workers to have employer-provided health insurance coverage. Only about one-fifth of contingent workers had employer-provided coverage, compared with a little over one-half of noncontingent workers. (See table 9.) Despite the fact that only a small proportion of contingent workers had employer-provided coverage, about 64 percent had health insurance from some source--usually from another family member. This rate was still lower than that of noncontingent workers (83 percent). Only about one-fifth of contingent workers were eligible for employer- provided pension plans, compared with about half of noncontingent workers. (See table 9.) Alternative employment arrangements The February 2001 survey collected information on the number and characteristics of workers in four alternative employment arrangements--independent contractors, on-call workers, temporary help agency workers, and workers employed by contract companies. The proportions of the employed included in these four arrangements did not change significantly since the last survey in February 1999. Also little changed were the characteristics of these workers. They continued to differ widely from each other and, in most cases, from workers with traditional arrangements. Independent contractors In February 2001, there were 8.6 million independent contractors identified in the survey. Independent contractor remained the largest of the four alternative arrangements, making up 6.4 percent of total employment. As in past surveys, independent contractors were more likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be over the age of 35, white, and male. They also were more likely to hold a bachelor's degree. (See tables 5, 6, and 7.) Part-time work was more common among independent contractors than among traditional workers. Twenty-five percent of independent contractors worked part time, compared with 17 percent of workers in traditional arrangements. As in prior surveys, independent contractors were most likely to work in the services and construction industries and in managerial, professional specialty, sales, and precision production occupations. The vast majority of independent contractors preferred their arrangement to a traditional one; eighty-three percent stated that they preferred to work as independent contractors rather than as an employee. (See tables 6, 8, and 11.) - 5 - On-call workers In February 2001, there were 2.1 million on-call workers, making up the second largest alternative work arrangement. A major difference between on- call and traditional workers was that on-call workers were much more likely to be between the ages of 16 and 24. Another difference was that on-call workers were nearly three times more likely than traditional workers to work part time. About 47 percent of on-call workers worked part time, by far the highest incidence of part-time work among the four alternative arrangements. On-call workers were more likely than those in traditional arrangements to work in professional, service, precision production, and operator, fabricator, and laborer jobs and to be employed in the construction and services indus- tries. Forty-three percent of on-call workers would have preferred to work in a traditional arrangement. (See tables 5, 6, 8, and 11.) Temporary help agency workers The February 2001 survey identified 1.2 million temporary help agency workers. As in earlier surveys, they were more likely than workers in traditional arrangements to be women, black or Hispanic, and between the ages of 20 and 34. About 1 in 5 temporary help agency workers had part- time schedules--slightly more than traditional workers. Temporary help agency workers age 16 to 24 were less likely to be enrolled in school than traditional workers of the same age. Those age 25 to 64 were more likely than traditional workers to have dropped out of high school, but over half had completed at least one year of college. Temporary help agency workers were overrepresented in the manufacturing and services industries and in the administrative support and operator, fabricator, and laborer occupations. Forty-four percent of temporary help agency workers would have preferred a traditional job, down from 57 percent in February 1999. (See tables 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11.) Workers provided by contract firms Contract company workers remained the smallest of the alternative work classifications, with an estimated 633,000 persons in this arrangement in February 2001. These individuals work for companies that provide workers or their services to other organizations under contract and usually were assigned to one customer at a time and worked at the customer's worksite. Contract company workers were disproportionately male (71 percent) and were less likely than traditional workers to work part time. Forty-two percent of contract workers age 25 to 64 held a bachelor's degree, compared with 32 percent of traditional workers. Contract company workers were most likely to work in professional, service, and precision production occupations. The majority of contract company workers were employed in the services and manufacturing industries, and more than 1 in 10 worked in public administration. (See tables 5, 6, 7, and 8.) Compensation of workers in alternative arrangements Among full-time workers in alternative arrangements, median usual weekly earnings varied widely. Contract company workers earned the most on average ($790), followed by independent contractors ($644). In contrast, on-call workers earned only $517 and temporary help agency workers only $396. (See table 13.) The differences in earnings for workers in the four alternative arrangements reflect in part differences in the occupational distributions and the demographic characteristics of the workers in the arrangements. For example, independent contractors tend to be older, highly educated persons holding higher-paying professional specialty jobs, while temporary help agency workers are more likely to be younger and are concentrated in lower paying administrative support positions. - 6 - As in past surveys, workers with alternative arrangements were less likely than workers with traditional arrangements to have health insurance coverage from any source in February 2001. As with earnings, however, the coverage rates varied widely among arrangements. Contract company workers were the most likely of the four arrangements to have health insurance (80 percent). This was very close to the rate for workers in a traditional arrangement (83 percent). Temporary help agency workers were the least likely of the alternative arrangements to have health insurance (48 percent). (See table 9.) A little more than half of contract company workers had employer- provided health insurance, compared with 30 percent of on-call workers and only 11 percent of temporary help agency workers. (Independent contractors do not have an employer in the same sense.) Fifty-eight percent of workers with traditional arrangements received health insurance benefits from their employers. Compared with workers in traditional arrangements, only contract company workers were as likely to be eligible for employer-provided pension plans in February 2001. Excluding independent contractors, the eligibility rates ranged from 13 percent of temporary help agency workers to 56 percent of contract company workers. Fifty-five percent of workers with traditional arrangements were eligible for employer-provided pension benefits. (See table 9.) -------------------------------------------------------------------- | Sample change for the Contingent Work supplement | | | | In February 2001, the Contingent Work supplement was asked of about| |three-fourths of the Current Population Survey (CPS) sample of | |50,000 households, rather than the entire sample. A consequence | |of this change is that usual weekly earnings estimates for workers | |in noncontingent and traditional arrangements could not be gene- | |rated from the February 2001 Contingent Work supplement. While all | |workers in contingent or alternative arrangements are asked about | |their usual weekly earnings, the earnings data on noncontingent | |and traditional workers come only from the outgoing rotation groups,| |who were not asked the Contingent Work supplement in February 2001. | |(The outgoing rotation groups are households that are not scheduled | |to be interviewed the following month. They constitute about a | |quarter of the entire sample.) | | | | The sample change was an indirect result of a Congressionally- | |mandated requirement that the Census Bureau improve data for the | |State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The Census | |Bureau obtains data for SCHIP from the Annual Demographic supple- | |ment that usually is administered to the entire CPS sample in | |March. To boost the number of households that receive the supple- | |ment, and thereby improve the SCHIP data, the Census Bureau took | |a number of steps. One was to administer the Annual Demographic | |supplement to the outgoing rotation groups of the February sample. | |Both BLS and Census Bureau staff agreed that asking respondents in | |the outgoing rotation groups both the Annual Demographic supplement | |and the Contingent Work supplement would be unduly burdensome. | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical Note Source of data The data presented in this release were collected through a supplement to the February 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 50,000 households that provides the basic data on employment and unemployment for the nation. This supplement obtained information from workers on whether they held contingent jobs, that is, jobs which were expected to last only a limited period of time. In addition, information was collected on several alternative employment arrangements, namely working as independent contractors and on-call workers, as well as working through temporary help agencies and contract firms. (The February 2001 Con- tingent Work supplement was administered to only about three-fourths of the entire CPS sample. See the box note at the end of the release text for more information.) All employed persons, except unpaid family workers, were included in the supplement. For persons holding more than one job, the questions referred to the characteristics of their main job--the job in which they worked the most hours. Similar surveys were conducted in February of 1995, 1997, and 1999. Reliability of the estimates Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population values they represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence. The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. Concepts and definitions Defining and estimating the contingent workforce. Contingent workers were defined as those who do not have an explicit or implicit contract for long- term employment. Several pieces of information were collected in the supplement from which the existence of a contingent employment arrangement could be discerned. These include: whether the job was temporary or not expected to continue, how long the worker expected to be able to hold the job, and how long the worker had held the job. For workers who had a job with an intermediary, namely a temporary help agency or a contract company, information was collected about their employment at the place they were assigned to work by the intermediary as well as their employment with the intermediary itself. The key factor used to determine if a worker's job fit the conceptual definition of contingent was whether the job was temporary or not expected to continue. The first questions of the supplement were: 1. Some people are in temporary jobs that last only for a limited time or until the completion of a project. Is your job temporary? 2. Provided the economy does not change and your job performance is adequate, can you continue to work for your current employer as long as you wish? Respondents who answered "yes" to the first question, or "no" to the second, were then asked a series of questions to distinguish persons who were in temporary jobs from those who, for personal reasons, were temporarily holding jobs that offered the opportunity of ongoing employment. For example, students holding part-time jobs in fast-food restaurants while in school might view those jobs as temporary if they intend to leave them at the end of the school year. The jobs themselves, however, would be filled by other workers once the students leave. Jobs were defined as being short term or temporary if the person was working only until the completion of a specific project, temporarily replacing another worker, being hired for a fixed time period, filling a seasonal job that is available only during certain times of the year, or if other business conditions dictated that the job was short term. Workers also were asked how long they expected to stay in their current job and how long they had been with their current employer. The rationale for asking how long an individual expects to remain in his or her current job was that being able to hold a job for a year or more could be taken as evidence of at least an implicit contract for ongoing employment. In other words, the employer's need for the worker's services is not likely to evapo- rate tomorrow. By the same token, the information on how long a worker has been with the employer shows whether, at least in the past, there was an explicit or implicit contract for continuing employment. To assess the impact of altering some of the defining factors on the estimated size of the contingent workforce, three measures of contingent employment were developed, as follows: Estimate 1, which is the narrowest, measures contingent workers as wage and salary workers who indicated that they expected to work in their current job for 1 year or less and who had worked for their current employer for 1 year or less. Self-employed workers, both incorporated and unincorporated, and independent contractors are excluded from the count of contingent workers under estimate 1; the rationale was that people who work for themselves, by definition, have ongoing employment arrangements, although they may face financial risks. Individuals who worked for temporary help agencies or con- tract companies are considered contingent under estimate 1 only if they expect their employment arrangement with the temporary help or contract company to last for 1 year or less and they had worked for that company for 1 year or less. Estimate 2 expands the measure of the contingent work force by including the self-employed--both the incorporated and the unincorporated--and indepen- dent contractors who expect to be, and had been, in such employment arrange- ments for 1 year or less. In addition, temporary help and contract company workers are classified as contingent under estimate 2 if they had worked and expected to work for the customers to whom they were assigned for 1 year or less. For example, a "temp" secretary who is sent to a different customer each week but has worked for the same temporary help firm for more than 1 year and expects to be able to continue with that firm indefinitely is contingent under estimate 2, but not under estimate 1. In contrast, a "temp" who is assigned to a single client for more than a year and expects to be able to stay with that client for more than a year is not counted as contingent under either estimate. Estimate 3 expands the count of contingency by removing the 1-year requirement on both expected duration of the job and current tenure for wage and salary workers. Thus, the estimate effectively includes all the wage and salary workers who do not expect their employment to last, except for those who, for personal reasons, expect to leave jobs that they would otherwise be able to keep. Thus, a worker who had held a job for 5 years could be considered contingent if he or she now viewed the job as temporary. These conditions on expected and current tenure are not relaxed for the self-employed and independent contractors, because they were asked a different set of questions from wage and salary workers. Defining alternative employment arrangements. The February supplements included questions about four alternative arrangements. Definitions of each category, as well as the main questions used to identify workers in each category, follow. Independent contractors are all those who were identified as independent contractors, consultants, and freelance workers in the supplement, regardless of whether they were identified as wage and salary workers or self-employed in the responses to basic CPS labor force status questions. Workers identi- fied as self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) in the basic CPS were asked, "Are you self-employed as an independent contractor, independent con- sultant, freelance worker, or something else (such as a shop or restaurant owner)?" in order to distinguish those who consider themselves to be indepen- dent contractors, consultants, or freelance workers from those who were business operators such as shop owners or restaurateurs. Those identified as wage and salary workers in the basic CPS were asked, "Last week, were you working as an independent contractor, an independent consultant, or a free- lance worker? That is, someone who obtains customers on their own to provide a product or service." About 88 percent of independent contractors were identified as self-employed in the main questionnaire, while 12 percent were identified as wage and salary workers. Conversely, about half of the self- employed were identified as independent contractors. On-call workers are persons who are called into work only when they are needed. This category includes workers who answered affirmatively to the question, "Some people are in a pool of workers who are ONLY called to work as needed, although they can be scheduled to work for several days or weeks in a row, for example, substitute teachers and construction workers supplied by a union hiring hall. These people are sometimes referred to as ON-CALL workers. Were you an ON-CALL worker last week?" Persons with regularly scheduled work which might include periods of being "on call" to perform work at unusual hours, such as medical residents, were not included in this category. Temporary help agency workers were all those who were paid by a temporary help agency. To the extent that permanent staff of temporary help agencies indicate that they are paid by their agencies, the estimate of the number of workers whose employment was mediated by temporary help agencies is over- stated. This category includes workers who said their job was temporary and answered affirmatively to the question, "Are you paid by a temporary help agency?" Also included are workers who said their job was not temporary and answered affirmatively to the question, "Even though you told me your job is not temporary, are you paid by a temporary help agency?" Workers provided by contract firms are those individuals identified as working for a contract company and who usually work for only one customer and usually work at the customer's worksite. The last two requirements were imposed to focus on workers whose employment appeared to be very closely tied to the firm for which they are performing the work, rather than include all workers employed by firms that provide services. This category included workers who answered affirmatively to the question, "Some companies provide employees or their services to others under contract. A few examples of services that can be contracted out include security, landscaping, or computer programming. Did you work for a company that contracts out you or your services last week?" These workers also had to respond negatively to the question, "Are you usually assigned to more than one customer?" In addition, these workers had to respond affirmatively to the question, "Do you usually work at the customer's worksite?" Additional information Persons interested in additional information about this release or the February supplements should contact (202) 691-6378 (email: CPSINFO@bls.gov). Further information on the concepts used in this release can be found in "Contingent and alternative work arrangements, defined," in the October 1996 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. An analysis of recent trends in contingent work and alternative employment arrangements can be found in "Contingent work in the late-1990s" and "Characteristics of and preference for alternative work arrangements, 1999," in the March 2001 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. Information in this release is made available to sensory impaired individ- uals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected characteristics, February 2001 (In thousands) Contingent workers Characteristic Total employed Noncontingent workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 Age and sex Total, 16 years and over............. 134,605 2,295 2,963 5,369 129,236 16 to 19 years........................... 6,597 416 443 598 6,000 20 to 24 years........................... 13,259 612 647 1,042 12,217 25 to 34 years........................... 30,079 531 695 1,211 28,868 35 to 44 years........................... 36,740 330 546 1,085 35,655 45 to 54 years........................... 29,946 242 397 846 29,101 55 to 64 years........................... 13,955 115 169 390 13,565 65 years and over........................ 4,029 48 68 199 3,830 Men, 16 years and over............... 71,376 1,156 1,468 2,686 68,690 16 to 19 years........................... 3,320 170 185 246 3,074 20 to 24 years........................... 6,778 317 320 531 6,247 25 to 34 years........................... 16,235 320 381 660 15,575 35 to 44 years........................... 19,668 150 261 538 19,131 45 to 54 years........................... 15,567 114 200 425 15,142 55 to 64 years........................... 7,449 57 82 185 7,264 65 years and over........................ 2,358 29 39 100 2,258 Women, 16 years and over............. 63,229 1,139 1,496 2,683 60,546 16 to 19 years........................... 3,277 247 258 351 2,926 20 to 24 years........................... 6,481 295 327 511 5,970 25 to 34 years........................... 13,844 211 314 550 13,293 35 to 44 years........................... 17,071 180 285 547 16,524 45 to 54 years........................... 14,379 128 197 420 13,959 55 to 64 years........................... 6,506 58 87 205 6,302 65 years and over........................ 1,671 19 28 98 1,572 Race and Hispanic origin White.................................... 112,976 1,866 2,419 4,380 108,596 Black.................................... 15,182 316 400 722 14,460 Hispanic origin.......................... 14,638 438 503 909 13,730 Full- or part-time status Full-time workers........................ 110,570 1,171 1,601 3,124 107,446 Part-time workers........................ 24,035 1,124 1,363 2,245 21,789 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 2. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by selected characteristics, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Contingent workers Characteristic Noncontingent workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 Age and sex Total, 16 years and over............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 16 to 19 years........................... 18.1 15.0 11.1 4.6 20 to 24 years........................... 26.7 21.8 19.4 9.5 25 to 34 years........................... 23.2 23.4 22.5 22.3 35 to 44 years........................... 14.4 18.4 20.2 27.6 45 to 54 years........................... 10.5 13.4 15.8 22.5 55 to 64 years........................... 5.0 5.7 7.3 10.5 65 years and over........................ 2.1 2.3 3.7 3.0 Men, 16 years and over............... 50.4 49.5 50.0 53.2 16 to 19 years........................... 7.4 6.2 4.6 2.4 20 to 24 years........................... 13.8 10.8 9.9 4.8 25 to 34 years........................... 13.9 12.9 12.3 12.1 35 to 44 years........................... 6.5 8.8 10.0 14.8 45 to 54 years........................... 5.0 6.8 7.9 11.7 55 to 64 years........................... 2.5 2.8 3.4 5.6 65 years and over........................ 1.3 1.3 1.9 1.7 Women, 16 years and over............. 49.6 50.5 50.0 46.8 16 to 19 years........................... 10.7 8.7 6.5 2.3 20 to 24 years........................... 12.9 11.0 9.5 4.6 25 to 34 years........................... 9.2 10.6 10.2 10.3 35 to 44 years........................... 7.9 9.6 10.2 12.8 45 to 54 years........................... 5.6 6.6 7.8 10.8 55 to 64 years........................... 2.5 2.9 3.8 4.9 65 years and over........................ .8 1.0 1.8 1.2 Race and Hispanic origin White.................................... 81.3 81.6 81.6 84.0 Black.................................... 13.8 13.5 13.4 11.2 Hispanic origin.......................... 19.1 17.0 16.9 10.6 Full- or part-time status Full-time workers........................ 51.0 54.0 58.2 83.1 Part-time workers........................ 49.0 46.0 41.8 16.9 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 3. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by school enrollment and educational attainment, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Contingent workers Characteristic Noncontingent workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 School enrollment Total, 16 to 24 years (thousands).... 1,028 1,090 1,639 18,217 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Enrolled................................. 61.6 59.9 60.4 40.6 Not enrolled............................. 38.4 40.1 39.6 59.4 Less than a high school diploma...... 9.2 8.8 9.6 10.5 High school graduates, no college.... 15.6 16.6 15.2 25.4 Less than a bachelor's degree........ 8.5 9.4 9.3 15.1 College graduates.................... 5.1 5.4 5.5 8.5 Educational attainment Total, 25 to 64 years (thousands).... 1,218 1,806 3,531 107,189 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Less than a high school diploma.......... 17.3 14.1 13.4 8.8 High school graduates, no college........ 28.1 32.0 30.0 30.5 Less than a bachelor's degree............ 29.8 28.6 27.0 28.6 College graduates........................ 24.8 25.2 29.6 32.1 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 4. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers by occupation and industry, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Contingent workers Characteristic Noncontingent workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 Occupation Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 2,295 2,963 5,369 129,236 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Executive, administrative, and managerial 6.2 8.2 9.1 15.4 Professional specialty................... 15.2 14.2 20.0 16.0 Technicians and related support.......... 2.3 2.5 2.4 3.4 Sales occupations........................ 8.7 8.7 6.5 12.3 Administrative support, including clerical.............................. 19.4 17.8 17.2 14.0 Services................................. 17.9 18.0 16.5 13.0 Precision production, craft, and repair.. 12.2 12.8 11.4 10.9 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..... 15.1 14.1 13.0 13.0 Farming, forestry, and fishing........... 3.0 3.6 4.0 1.9 Industry Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 2,295 2,963 5,369 129,236 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Agriculture.............................. 2.5 3.2 3.6 2.0 Mining................................... .1 .2 .1 .4 Construction............................. 12.4 12.1 9.9 6.3 Manufacturing............................ 6.9 6.8 7.5 15.0 Transportation and public utilities...... 2.9 4.1 3.7 7.3 Wholesale trade.......................... 1.9 1.6 1.9 4.0 Retail trade............................. 14.1 13.7 11.6 16.6 Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 3.6 3.2 2.8 7.1 Services................................. 51.7 52.1 55.4 36.7 Public administration.................... 3.8 3.0 3.6 4.6 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 5. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected characteristics, February 2001 (In thousands) Workers with alternative arrangements Total Workers with Characteristic employed Temporary Workers traditional Independent On-call help agency provided by arrangements contractors workers workers contract firms Age and sex Total, 16 years and over.. 134,605 8,585 2,089 1,169 633 121,917 16 to 19 years................ 6,597 104 202 41 7 6,217 20 to 24 years................ 13,259 235 309 220 69 12,356 25 to 34 years................ 30,079 1,314 355 310 148 27,905 35 to 44 years................ 36,740 2,486 538 291 183 33,194 45 to 54 years................ 29,946 2,410 374 165 151 26,824 55 to 64 years................ 13,955 1,357 191 124 48 12,227 65 years and over............. 4,029 679 119 18 28 3,193 Men, 16 years and over.... 71,376 5,537 1,109 480 447 63,656 16 to 19 years................ 3,320 61 82 15 7 3,139 20 to 24 years................ 6,778 120 178 82 57 6,289 25 to 34 years................ 16,235 776 245 130 115 14,935 35 to 44 years................ 19,668 1,632 251 154 138 17,461 45 to 54 years................ 15,567 1,545 180 51 76 13,704 55 to 64 years................ 7,449 911 98 42 39 6,353 65 years and over............. 2,358 491 76 7 15 1,775 Women, 16 years and over.. 63,229 3,048 981 689 187 58,261 16 to 19 years................ 3,277 43 121 26 - 3,079 20 to 24 years................ 6,481 115 131 138 12 6,067 25 to 34 years................ 13,844 538 111 180 32 12,971 35 to 44 years................ 17,071 854 287 138 45 15,733 45 to 54 years................ 14,379 864 194 114 75 13,120 55 to 64 years................ 6,506 446 93 82 9 5,873 65 years and over............. 1,671 188 43 11 13 1,418 Race and Hispanic origin White......................... 112,976 7,580 1,747 800 487 102,170 Black......................... 15,182 600 277 297 94 13,897 Hispanic origin............... 14,638 616 232 205 66 13,424 Full- or part-time status Full-time workers............. 110,570 6,452 1,100 925 568 101,386 Part-time workers............. 24,035 2,133 989 244 65 20,530 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not add to totals because the total employed includes day laborers (an alternative arrangement, not shown separately) and a small number of workers who were both "on call" and "provided by contract firms." Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 6. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by selected characteristics, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Workers with alternative arrangements Workers with Characteristic traditional Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements contractors workers agency workers provided by contract firms Age and sex Total, 16 years and over............. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 16 to 19 years........................... 1.2 9.7 3.5 1.1 5.1 20 to 24 years........................... 2.7 14.8 18.8 10.9 10.1 25 to 34 years........................... 15.3 17.0 26.5 23.3 22.9 35 to 44 years........................... 29.0 25.7 24.9 28.9 27.2 45 to 54 years........................... 28.1 17.9 14.1 23.9 22.0 55 to 64 years........................... 15.8 9.1 10.6 7.6 10.0 65 years and over........................ 7.9 5.7 1.5 4.4 2.6 Men, 16 years and over............... 64.5 53.1 41.1 70.6 52.2 16 to 19 years........................... .7 3.9 1.3 1.1 2.6 20 to 24 years........................... 1.4 8.5 7.0 8.9 5.2 25 to 34 years........................... 9.0 11.7 11.1 18.2 12.2 35 to 44 years........................... 19.0 12.0 13.2 21.8 14.3 45 to 54 years........................... 18.0 8.6 4.4 12.0 11.2 55 to 64 years........................... 10.6 4.7 3.6 6.1 5.2 65 years and over........................ 5.7 3.6 .6 2.4 1.5 Women, 16 years and over............. 35.5 46.9 58.9 29.4 47.8 16 to 19 years........................... .5 5.8 2.2 - 2.5 20 to 24 years........................... 1.3 6.3 11.8 1.9 5.0 25 to 34 years........................... 6.3 5.3 15.4 5.1 10.6 35 to 44 years........................... 9.9 13.7 11.8 7.1 12.9 45 to 54 years........................... 10.1 9.3 9.7 11.9 10.8 55 to 64 years........................... 5.2 4.5 7.0 1.4 4.8 65 years and over........................ 2.2 2.1 .9 2.0 1.2 Race and Hispanic origin White.................................... 88.3 83.6 68.4 76.8 83.8 Black.................................... 7.0 13.3 25.4 14.9 11.4 Hispanic origin.......................... 7.2 11.1 17.6 10.4 11.0 Full- or part-time status Full-time workers........................ 75.2 52.6 79.2 89.7 83.2 Part-time workers........................ 24.8 47.4 20.8 10.3 16.8 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Detail for other characteristics may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 7. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by school enrollment and educational attainment, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Workers with alternative arrangements Workers with Characteristic traditional Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements contractors workers agency workers provided by contract firms School enrollment Total, 16 to 24 years (thousands).... 339 512 261 76 18,574 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Enrolled................................. 25.7 48.9 28.2 28.1 42.6 Not enrolled............................. 74.3 51.1 71.8 71.9 57.4 Less than a high school diploma...... 12.1 6.8 14.2 7.2 10.5 High school graduates, no college.... 31.3 17.7 32.3 39.3 24.4 Less than a bachelor's degree........ 20.6 16.5 15.4 15.4 14.4 College graduates.................... 10.3 10.1 9.9 10.1 8.2 Educational attainment Total, 25 to 64 years (thousands).... 7,567 1,459 890 530 100,150 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Less than a high school diploma.......... 8.5 8.2 14.7 9.0 8.8 High school graduates, no college........ 29.7 28.7 29.4 25.8 30.6 Less than a bachelor's degree............ 27.1 35.0 36.5 23.5 28.6 College graduates........................ 34.7 28.1 19.4 41.7 32.0 NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 8. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by occupation and industry, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Workers with alternative arrangements Workers with Characteristic traditional Independent On-call Temporary help Workers arrangements contractors workers agency workers provided by contract firms Occupation Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 8,585 2,089 1,169 633 121,917 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Executive, administrative, and managerial 19.4 5.5 6.7 13.1 15.1 Professional specialty................... 16.8 25.9 10.4 25.4 16.0 Technicians and related support.......... 1.2 4.2 6.5 9.1 3.5 Sales occupations........................ 15.6 6.6 7.7 3.1 12.0 Administrative support, including clerical.............................. 3.9 8.7 29.5 4.4 14.8 Services................................. 10.7 18.8 7.6 18.6 13.3 Precision production, craft, and repair.. 19.5 13.0 7.5 19.3 10.3 Operators, fabricators, and laborers..... 7.3 15.0 23.2 6.3 13.3 Farming, forestry, and fishing........... 5.6 2.2 .9 .7 1.8 Industry Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 8,585 2,089 1,169 633 121,917 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Agriculture.............................. 5.7 2.1 .5 .5 1.8 Mining................................... .3 .4 .9 1.1 .4 Construction............................. 19.6 10.1 2.9 5.8 5.4 Manufacturing............................ 3.7 5.3 21.1 20.8 15.7 Transportation and public utilities...... 5.6 9.7 7.3 6.4 7.2 Wholesale trade.......................... 2.7 2.3 2.8 3.6 4.1 Retail trade............................. 8.8 11.8 3.7 2.6 17.2 Finance, insurance, and real estate...... 9.2 2.4 6.6 4.1 6.9 Services................................. 44.4 50.5 45.5 36.8 36.3 Public administration.................... .1 5.3 (1) 11.9 4.9 Not reported or ascertained.............. - - 6.1 6.5 - 1 Less than 0.05 percent. NOTE: Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. For temporary help agency workers and workers provided by contract firms, the industry classification is that of the place to which they were assigned. Dash represents zero. Table 9. Employed contingent and noncontingent workers and those with alternative and traditional work arrangements by health insurance coverage and eligibility for employer-provided pension plans, February 2001 Percent with health Percent eligible for insurance coverage employer-provided Total employed pension plan(2) Characteristic (thousands) Provided by Included in Total employer(1) Total employer- provided pension plan Contingent workers: Estimate 1............................. 2,295 55.8 10.2 10.8 6.9 Estimate 2............................. 2,963 57.9 9.1 10.4 6.8 Estimate 3............................. 5,369 63.6 20.4 21.7 16.0 Noncontingent workers.................... 129,236 82.5 55.0 51.8 47.0 With alternative arrangements: Independent contractors................ 8,585 72.5 (3) 3.5 2.3 On-call workers........................ 2,089 70.0 29.8 36.9 31.3 Temporary help agency workers.......... 1,169 48.1 10.7 13.3 7.6 Workers provided by contract firms..... 633 80.1 52.1 55.7 47.7 With traditional arrangements............ 121,917 83.1 58.3 54.5 49.5 1 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated) and independent contractors. 2 Excludes the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated); includes independent contractors who were self-employed. 3 Not applicable. NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Table 10. Employed contingent workers by their preference for contingent or noncontingent work arrangements, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Contingent workers Preference Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 2,295 2,963 5,369 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 Prefer noncontingent employment.......... 57.8 52.0 52.1 Prefer contingent employment............. 35.2 40.1 40.3 It depends............................... 5.8 6.0 5.3 Not available............................ 1.2 1.9 2.2 NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 11. Employed workers with alternative work arrangements by their preference for a traditional work arrangement, February 2001 (Percent distribution) Preference Independent contractors On-call workers Temporary help agency workers Total, 16 years and over (thousands). 8,585 2,089 1,169 Percent.............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 Prefer traditional arrangement........... 8.8 43.4 44.4 Prefer indirect or alternative arrangement........................... 83.4 49.1 44.5 It depends............................... 4.9 5.7 5.7 Not available............................ 3.0 1.9 5.4 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 12. Employed workers with alternative and traditional work arrangements by contingent and noncontingent employment, February 2001 Percent distribution Total Arrangement (thousands) Contingent workers Noncontingent workers Estimate 1 Estimate 2 Estimate 3 With alternative arrangements: Independent contractors................ 8,585 (1) 4.1 4.1 95.9 On-call workers........................ 2,089 12.0 12.3 24.6 75.4 Temporary help agency workers.......... 1,169 25.4 34.0 55.4 44.6 Workers provided by contract firms..... 633 5.2 11.0 17.1 82.9 With traditional arrangements............ 121,917 1.2 1.4 2.9 97.1 1 Not applicable. Excludes independent contractors and the self-employed (incorporated and unincorporated). NOTE: Noncontingent workers are those who do not fall into any estimate of "contingent" workers. Workers with traditional arrangements are those who do not fall into any of the "alternative arrangements" categories. Table 13. Median usual weekly earnings of full- and part-time contingent wage and salary workers and those with alternative work arrangements by sex, race, and Hispanic origin, February 2001 Contingent workers Workers with alternative arrangements Characteristic Temporary Workers Estimate Estimate Estimate Independent On-call help provided 1 2 3 contractors workers agency by workers contract firms Full-time workers Total, 16 years and over. $388 $397 $432 $644 $517 $396 $790 Men.......................... 418 436 488 732 596 435 880 Women........................ 341 347 364 489 380 367 530 White........................ 392 398 429 659 536 416 801 Black........................ 366 374 422 519 477 351 (1) Hispanic origin.............. 308 310 302 473 332 310 (1) Part-time workers Total, 16 years and over. 117 120 121 243 139 186 (1) Men.......................... 135 137 134 326 130 (1) (1) Women........................ 107 110 115 205 145 $178 (1) White........................ 111 113 116 255 132 189 (1) Black........................ 134 140 137 131 164 (1) (1) Hispanic origin.............. 104 104 93 221 136 (1) (1) 1 Data not shown where base is less than 100,000. NOTE: Earnings data were not collected this year for persons with traditional work arrangements and noncontingent workers. Earnings data for contingent workers exclude the incorporated self-employed and independent contractors. Data for independent contractors include the incorporated and unincorporated self-employed; these groups, however, are excluded from the data for workers with other arrangements. Full- or part-time status is determined by hours usually worked at sole or principal job.