
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, August 27, 1995                   TAG: 9508250013
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: F4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAMELA MENDELS NEWSDAY
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MOST TEMP WORKERS WOULD PREFER PERMANENT JOBS, STUDY FINDS

A majority of the 3 million to 6 million Americans who work in temporary jobs would prefer permanent posts, according to a government study of temporary workers.

The report, released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, was the government's first attempt to look at what some have termed the ``contingent work force,'' those with transitory jobs.

One surprise was the size of the contingent corps. In recent years, some had estimated that it included as many as 25 percent to 30 percent of American workers. But the study estimated the size at 2 percent to 5 percent of the work force, depending on the definition used.

The study came up with three definitions of contingent workers. The first included only employees who had been in their posts for a year or less and expected to remain there for only an additional year or less; the second added certain self-employed individuals; the third included almost any worker who believed his or her job was temporary.

The government found that 2.7 million workers - or about 2.2 percent of America's total work force - fit into the first category; 3.4 million, or 2.8 percent, into the second; and 6 million, or 4.9 percent, into the third.

In all three cases, most contingents were less than satisfied with their status, with 64 percent in the first category and 56 percent in the third category saying they would prefer permanent jobs.

The study also found that contingent workers were less likely than permanent job-holders to have employer-provided health insurance. Only 9 percent to 20 percent of contingents received medical coverage from their jobs, compared with about 54 percent of non-contingents.

And a part of the study that looked at alternative work arrangements found that people who worked through temporary help agencies fared particularly poorly when it came to health benefits. Only about 6 percent of temporary help agency workers had employer-provided health insurance.

The nature of the contingent work force has been a hotly debated topic in recent years. Some say the contingent phenomenon bodes ill for workers because contingent jobs are often low-paying and unstable. Others say temporary jobs can be a boon to workers looking for flexibility and are necessary for a complex economy.

Eileen Appelbaum, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said she believes the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimate of the contingent work force is too low. A definition should have included, for example, those who are in part-time jobs but would prefer full-time posts, she said.

Nonetheless, Appelbaum said the study is valuable: ``This survey will enable us to know a lot more about who are these temporary workers.''

by CNB