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This Just In: The Permanent Temporary Work Force (L-O-N-G)

From MSN Money. You mean we get to compete as an INDIVIDUAL now, and not as part of some faceless corporate staff cubicle herd? Oh my...it's MERIT time!

"I thought, 'Hey, I've got a law degree and an MBA. I'm not going to be out of work.' It's just not the case anymore."

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"Employers' unspoken message to employees, says Cornell University labor economist Kevin F. Hallock, is this: "You can absorb more risk, or you're going to lose your job. Which would you prefer?"

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"Some young people are so desperate to get a start, they're working for free as semi-permanent interns. "Companies that used to use only one or two interns are now asking me for five or six at a time," says Lauren Berger, who runs a company that matches interns with entertainment, marketing and media companies. Berger also reports a rise in the number of "adult interns," who work for free while trying to break into a new career.

Those internships might look like plum spots in years to come, for the gloomy trends in the labor market show no sign of abating."

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"When employment in the United States eventually recovers, it's likely to be because American workers swallow hard and accept lower pay. That has been the pattern for decades now: Shockingly, pay for production and nonsupervisory workers -- 80% of the private work force -- is 9% lower than it was in 1973, adjusted for inflation."

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"For a glimpse of where things might be headed in the United States, look at Europe, which makes a lot more use of temporary and part-time workers than U.S. employers do. That's in large part because of Europe's famously rigid labor laws; rather than hiring permanent workers, employers turn to temps and contractors who can be let go more easily during a downturn.

In Spain, 85% of recent job losses in this recession were by temps or contractors. One big difference: Most European countries cover temps and part-timers with government health insurance and require that they receive wages and benefits comparable to those for permanent employees doing similar work.

Look far enough into the future and it's possible to see better times ahead for labor. A decade from now the retirement of the baby boom generation could cause labor shortages and hand some bargaining power back to younger workers, says Robert Mellman, a senior economist at JPMorgan Chase. If that happens, woe unto employers. A survey in 2009 by the benefits consultant now known as Towers Watson found that top-performing employees will be ready to jump ship as soon as a better offer comes along. Says Wharton's Cappelli: "The idea of loyalty -- 'I will stick with you and you will reward me' -- is effectively gone."

Posted by Cute at 9:06 PM

Labels: education/career, financial (non-tax), taxes